Still Waters
by XenaLives
Summary: No holds barred, pure, unadulterated, undiluted skin on skin romance. I keep it classy though people. For those of you not familiar with my stories you are welcome to read this first but, if you want the full effect of why this moment is so special in my Paily world you should begin at the beginning. (Wrong About You. Wrong About You, Too, and Ripple Effects in that order).
1. Chapter 1

"So," Paige bounced up and down on the balls of her feet in anticipation. "Will you do it?"

Hanna frowned, seeming to consider the request. "I don't know." She drawled out.

"Really?" Paige's face fell. "I thought this would be right in your wheelhouse."

"Yeah, but…" Hanna struggled not to crack up. "I'll have to lie."

Paige cocked her head and frowned. "Well, yeah, but-"

Hanna couldn't hold back a laugh any longer. Paige was just so easy to mess with. "Relax, Paige, I'm totally kidding." She smiled sincerely. "Of, course I'll do it. Piece of cake."

Paige breathed a sigh of relief and smiled back playfully punching Hanna in the arm. "God, don't do that. I'm nervous enough as it is."

"Nervous?" Hanna questioned. "What for?" A light seemed to dawn on her. "Holy shit! This won't be your first-".

"No. No." Paige raised her hand to cut her off. "Emily and I just haven't had a chance to be alone together in a while and I just want everything to be special."

"I get it." Hanna smiled in understanding. "You two deserve something special. I'll take care of it." Hanna's face turned serious. "But, Paige…" She trailed off.

"What?" Paige prodded when it didn't seem she was going to finish her thought.

"I don't know…" Hanna seemed uncomfortable. "...it's just...your Aunt's cabin? On a lake?"

Paige nodded in understanding. "You mean to ask why would I take Emily there when everything awful that's ever happened to us has happened in a place just like that?"

"Yeah." Hanna breathed. "That's what I mean."

"Don't you see?" Paige got excited. "That's exactly why it has to be there. The last few months have been hell. And before that even. We need to reclaim our lives starting with being able to go to the places we want without being afraid of memories or flashbacks or any of that garbage. We need to make some new memories. Together. We need something magical and it has to be there." Paige was almost out of breath.''

Hanna's eyes twinkled. "Something magical, huh?"

Paige mock scowled at her. "Don't make fun."

Hanna raised her hand and smiled. "Oh, I'm not. I'm just thinking about the next time I can get Caleb alone and make some magical memories of my own."

Paige laughed. "Nice."

Hanna and Paige headed to class. "So, we're good, then?" Paige asked again.

"Stop worrying." Hanna chided. "I'll get her there."

Paige was still antsy about it. "Well, can you talk to her soon? It's already Thursday and I want to make sure-"

"Paige!" Hanna cut her off. "Simmer down. I got this."

Paige raised her hands in mock surrender. "Okay. Okay. I leave it in your capable hands."

* * *

The lunch table was lively today. The girls had been relatively A free lately. And, while they knew A was never far away, they had been dealing with this for long enough now that they knew they had to take advantage of these times and enjoy them as best they could. You could never be sure how long they would last.

"Hey, Em." Hanna raised her voice over the din of the cafeteria. "I'm home alone this weekend and I think you should pack a bag and come over. We can, you know, have a pamper yourself weekend." She threw a wink to Paige. "What do you think? Say yes, please." Hanna added.

Paige's eyes went wide and she gulped down the bite she had been chewing. She wanted Hanna to set it up soon but she didn't mean for her to ask Emily about it in front of her.

Emily's eyes flicked to Paige. They hadn't made any plans this weekend but Emily assumed they would spend,at least, some of the weekend together. "Ummm…." Emily stalled.

Hanna saw Emily hesitate and pressed on. "Oh, don't worry about Paige. I already got her blessing. Right, Paige?" Hanna asked eyes glittering.

Paige had deer in headlights face and squeaked out what may have been an affirmative reply. She was a terrible liar and, when it came to Emily, was even worse if that were possible. This is why she asked Hanna's assistance in getting Emily out to the cabin while keeping it a surprise. She wasn't supposed to be involved at all. She glared at Hanna across the table and Hanna replied by sticking out her tongue as soon as Emily was looking elsewhere.

"Em?" Hanna prodded.

Emily shrugged looking to Paige to give her one last opportunity to object. Paige remained silently staring at her lunch. Emily turned to Hanna. "Sure, why not. It sounds like fun." Emily glanced to Paige out of the corner of her eye as she remained looking anywhere but at her and crammed a mouthful of food in her face.

"Hanna!" Paige caught up with her at her locker after lunch.

Hanna knew that she was annoyed at what happened. "Oh, come on, Paige. That was funny."

Paige's expression let her know she thought it was anything but funny.

Hanna relented. "Okay, I'm sorry. I'll make it up to you." She said with a smile. "It worked out fine though. I told you I would handle it."

Paige sighed. She wanted to stay annoyed but she had asked Hanna for a favor and Hanna had delivered in usual Hanna fashion. Emily hadn't caught on and, so far, her plan to get Emily alone for a night at her Aunt's cabin was working. "So, you'll drive her out early Saturday afternoon?"

Hanna chewed her lip. "Why not Friday as well?"

Paige grimaced. "I wanted to but the cabin has been closed up for a few months and I need some time to get everything set up."

Hanna shrugged. "Saturday it is then."

* * *

Paige got out to the cabin early Saturday morning. She juggled grocery bags and a duffel as she unlocked the door and kicked it open. The cabin was neat, as always, but smelled musty and unused. She dropped her bags on the kitchen counter and opened all the windows to get the air circulating before she began unpacking. She set her phone into the speaker dock and selected one of her workout mixes.

Groceries went in the fridge and cabinets. She had done most of the food preparation last night so she really only needed to throw things together and cook it. Spinach and artichoke dip on pita bread to start followed by pan-seared scallops in a tomato cream sauce over linguine, caesar salad, and warm, crusty french bread finished with strawberries and whipped cream for dessert. For breakfast, omelettes with avocado, mushrooms and cheese.

Paige filled the fridge with an array of beverages and set a bag of fresh ground coffee on the counter. She moved to the main room and distributed lightly scented votive candles. A few went into the bathroom and a few more in the bedroom. She put fresh sheets on the bed and made it with no attention to detail spared.

Paige stood, hands on hips, and looked around the room to see if there was anything she missed. She smiled, satisfied by the way things looked. It was nearly noon and Hanna said she'd have Emily here by 1:00 pm. Paige, dressed in a fitted white tank and her oldest worn jeans, had left herself enough time to get cleaned up.

Before that, though, she grabbed a bottle of water and headed out to sit on the front steps and enjoy the sunshine of the afternoon. She dropped onto the steps, stretching out her legs and leaning back on her elbows. It was beautiful out here. She made a mental note to ask to use the cabin more often. As her eyes drifted around the property they settled on the pile of logs at the side of the cabin. She sat up straight. She hadn't even thought about having a fire. Dessert in front of the fire would be perfect. She checked her watch. She had enough time to split a few logs if she hurried.

Paige squinted into the dim light of the shed spying the axe leaning in the corner. A pair of fingerless leather gloves pinned behind the handle. She slipped them on and flexed her fingers. They'd do. She hefted the axe and thumbed the blade. It had been sharpened recently. She hadn't split wood in a while but, once upon a time when she had been able to spend more time out here, she and her cousins had contests. She won not infrequently.

Paige stood a log up on the stump and swung the axe in a smooth arc over her head, her right hand sliding down to meet her left, bringing the blade down dead center. The crack of splitting wood was loud and satisfying. She collected the two halves and split them each again tossing the now quartered wood into a pile to stack next to the fireplace. She selected another log.

* * *

Emily threw her bag in the backseat of Hanna's car without looking or she might have noticed the flowers and bottles of wine peeking out from under a towel on the back seat. "Hey." She climbed in and buckled her seat belt.

"Hey yourself." Hanna smiled. "Hope you got lots of sleep last night."

"Ah, yeah, I guess." Emily looked at her quizzically. " Why are you planning an all nighter?"

Hanna's eyes sparkled mischievously. "You never know." She answered cryptically. She made an effort to school her expression and not give anything away. "We have to run an errand out of town. It shouldn't take too long though."

Emily was distracted with finding a radio station. "Sure. Whatever."

Nearly half an hour later, the girls having chatted amiably about nothing the entire way, Hanna turned off the main road. Emily looked around at the wooded landscape. "Where on earth are we going?"

Hanna suppressed her smile. "We're almost there. I just have to drop something off for a friend."

"Seriously?" Emily asked "Out here?"

Hanna glanced at her out of the corner of her eye. "Just be patient."

* * *

Paige grinned maniacally as she brought the axe down again. She was sweating and breathing hard and she felt wonderful. She had amassed an impressive pile of wood and time had completely gotten away from her. She was lining up another log when she heard the crunch of car tires on the gravel drive.

Her head shot up and looked to the front of the house then down to her watch. "Holy crap!" She muttered.

Emily leaned forward to peer out the windshield at the cabin as Hanna rolled to a stop. "You know someone who lives here?" She asked confused. "What do you have to drop off?"

Hanna let her face split into the grin she had been holding back. "You."

As if they had choreographed it Paige came around the side of the house, the axe casually slung across her shoulders, her gloved hands draped over each end. Her tank clung damply to her body, hugging her lithe frame, and sweat rolled down her face, glistening on her neck and chest. Her ripped jeans hung low on her hips exposing her midriff and her scuffed work boots were untied. She shielded her eyes from the sun and waited by the front porch with a half smile.

"Oh. My. God." Hanna breathed before shaking her head and letting out a low whistle. "For a second there I think I was a lesbian." She turned to Emily who hadn't said a word. "Oh, Em, I wish you could see your face right now."

Emily's breath caught at the sight of Paige sweaty and filthy and looking like a warrior goddess in the sunlight. She was completely overcome and may have sat transfixed indefinitely if Hanna hadn't elbowed her in the ribs. "Seriously, Emily?." Hanna laughed. "Pull yourself together."

Emily never took her eyes off Paige. "What's going on?" She whispered.

Hanna reached behind her and grabbed the flowers and two bottles of wine. "Emily Fields, this is your weekend." She dropped the wine and bouquet in her lap. "I swiped a red and white from my mom because I didn't know what was on the menu."

Emily, finally having caught on, looked at Hanna. "You did this?"

Hanna pulled an aw shucks face. "It was nothing. And all I had to do was get you here. And here you are." When Emily still hadn't moved Hanna leaned across her and opened the door. "Well, what are you waiting for?"

Emily didn't need to be told twice. She switched the wine and flowers to one hand and grabbed her bag out of the back tossing it on the ground. She could come back for it later. Hanna backed out and sketched the girls a wave yelling out the window. "Make good choices." Before she disappeared down the drive.

Paige waited patiently as Emily seemed to collect herself. She leaned the axe up against the porch and watched Emily walk toward her with anticipation. She was lovely and amazing and, for all the work that Paige had put into getting the cabin ready, they could have spent the weekend together in a cave and Paige would have been happy.

Paige grinned like a kid on Christmas. "You're here."

Emily smiled back from beneath her lashes, making no effort to hide her longing in the gaze. "And just in time, too."

Paige cocked an eye. "In time for what?"

Emily set the bottles and bouquet on the front porch and advanced on Paige, her intentions anything but honorable. "To see you looking like you just got done saving the world."

Paige took a step back her hands outstretched to fend her off. "No, don't." She laughed. "I'm all sweaty."

"I know." Emily snaked her arms around Paige's waist and pulled her close brushing her lips along her neck and collarbone. "Mmmm." She murmured as she tasted her damp, salty skin. She smelled of wood and earth.

Paige's eyes closed and her head dropped back in pleasure. "Em..." She breathed as she returned the embrace. "This isn't...what I had…" She trailed off as Emily continued to move forward backing Paige up against the porch rail running her lips into the hollow at her throat and her hands up and down her spine.

"What's that?" Emily teased as she moved her hands around, her fingertips tracing up and down Paige's sides in the way she knew drove her wild.

"Oh, God…" Paige gasped as Emily continued to rain kisses along her throat and behind her ears while her hands kept busy teasing the sensitive skin along her sides. "Emily…"

"Do you want me to stop?" Emily whispered in her ear.

"No…" Paige breathed and then a beat later. "...yeah…yes." She straightened and placed her hands on Emily's shoulders gently and very reluctantly putting some space between them.

"Are you sure?" Emily's eyes flashed mischieviously.

Paige stared her down with desirous look of her own. "I still need to seduce you with my cooking."

Emily blinked in surprise before throwing her head back in laughter. She leaned in to kiss Paige deeply before pulling away, collecting her bag, the wine and the flowers and heading into the house.


	2. Chapter 2

Emily helped herself to a bottle of water and opened one for Paige as she looked around the cabin appreciatively. Paige wrestled her second armload of firewood through the door and dropped it into the wood box.

"Whose place is this?" Emily asked handing Paige the water.

Paige drained the bottle before answering. "My Aunt's. I used to come out here a lot when I was younger. Building forts with my cousins and fishing and stuff. Then there was high school and my swimming got serious and I just never seemed to have the time."

Emily nodded eyeing Paige up and down with a quirk of her lips. "Too bad."

The expression wasn't lost on Paige and she forced herself to look away lest she fall prey to her charms again before she got a shower. "I'm going to get cleaned up." She motioned to the bathroom and edged past Emily being careful to stay out of reach.

"That sounds like a great idea." Emily replied before dropping onto the sofa with what she hoped was an innocent looking smile.

Emily sat drinking her water for a few minutes before she heard the shower running. A few minutes after that she heard Paige singing and Emily grinned wickedly as she recognized the lyrics to Crimson and Clover, the Joan Jett version by the way Paige was growling it out. Emily waited until she heard her start the last verse. "Yeah, if I'm not such a sweet thing. I wanna do everything. What a beautiful feelin. Crimson and Clover. Over and Over." That was her cue.

Emily stood outside the bathroom door and stepped out of her clothes leaving them in a pile on the floor. She pushed open the door Paige had left invitingly ajar and stepped quietly into the bathroom. The small space was filled with steam and Emily could just make out Paige's hazy outline through the curtain. She waited until she was fairly sure Paige was facing the water, eyes closed and slipped into the shower at the back. It was just big enough for two.

Emily didn't wait for Paige to notice her but slipped her arms around her waist from behind. Paige jumped and whirled around letting out a small screech as she almost lost her balance. Emily tightened her grip and stopped whatever protest Paige was about to make with her lips.

Paige didn't put up much of a fight and sighed heavily as Emily held her close deepening their kiss as the hot water cascaded around them. This time it was Emily who broke it off but only pulling away far enough to look into Paige's eyes, a half smile playing at her lips. She reached for the soap, lathering up her hands and running them over Paige's slick skin. Across her back, over her breasts, down to her belly and hips.

Paige trembled at the touch and put a hand to the tile wall to steady herself. She tried, desperately, to focus on her plans but Emily's hands were everywhere chasing all coherent thought from her mind "Em… .". She feebly protested.

"Hush." Emily leaned in kissing along her shoulders and nipping at her neck. "Why did you bring me here?" She breathed into her ear.

"I thought…." Paige swallowed thickly as Emily's fingers traced a line down between her breasts and circled her navel. "...we needed….some time…" She trailed off as Emily soaped her hands again and lowered herself slightly to reach around behind her and run her hands along the back of her thighs, over her ass and around her waist.

"Some time for what?" Emily asked with laughter in her voice. She had Paige against the ropes and wasn't going to let up. Emily was certain she already knew what Paige had in mind and why she chose here and it blew her mind. She was the most extraordinary woman Emily had ever known and she loved Paige until she thought her heart would burst. And right now she wanted her desperately and with total abandon.

Paige gasped as Emily circled her waist with her left arm and dragged the fingers of her right up the inside of her thigh eliciting a moan of pleasure from her and turning Emily's own arousal up another notch. She knew Paige was in no condition to answer her now and pressed her back against the tile wall for support. They were beyond words and, generating their own blazing internal heat, welcomed the cooled water when it came.

* * *

Paige slipped into a black tank and pulled on loose fitting khakis. She felt relaxed and disembodied from their overheated shower and fumbled with the buttons on her pants. Emily slipped her hands around her from behind. "Can I help?" She asked as she deftly buttoned the waist.

"Stop." Paige laughed. "I can't think when you're this close to me."

"I have no idea what you mean." Emily pleaded innocently and flopped back onto the bed. "God, I'm starving." She exclaimed.

"Ha!" Paige answered. "So, you do need my cooking?"

Emily propped herself up on her elbows and studied her. "How did I not know about you and cooking?"

"Ah, it's kind of a new interest actually." Paige extended out her hands and pulled Emily off the bed leading her into the kitchen. "Well, not really new." She started taking the ingredients for spinach and artichoke dip out and throwing them together in a bowl mixing in the cheese. "I've always enjoyed cooking I just haven't had the time to do it much. After I was in the hospital and then home recovering I found myself watching a lot of Food Network." She turned the oven on and slid in the dip to heat setting the timer for twenty minutes. "One of the first things Dr. Sullivan asked me to do was focus on an interest, something that made me happy that wasn't swimming and that I could handle doing on my own. So I started, you know, messing around in the kitchen experimenting and trying out some recipes." She finished with a smile and a shrug.

"Hmm." Emily nodded absently.

"Why are you looking at me like that?" Paige asked.

Emily had, apparently, gazed at her adoringly for too long. "I just love how you surprise me." She smiled. "I'd like to be able to surprise you like that."

Paige laughed. "Ah, I can assure you I was surprised as hell a few minutes ago." Her cheeks flushed at the mention of it.

"Well." Emily peered around Paige at the timer on the oven. "We have a few more minutes. Would you like to be surprised again?"

Paige feigned shock. "Emily, how very wanton of you." She turned her back to hide her smile and began removing food for dinner from the fridge. "I know it's early but I'm going to get started on dinner."

"Fine." Emily sighed. "How can I help?"

"Hmmm." Paige looked around. "You can open the wine to start." She slid the corkscrew across the counter.

"Oh, my pleasure." Emily grabbed the bottles. "Red or white?"

Paige considered. "Either will work, I think, so whichever you prefer."

"How about we start with white." Emily began working on the cork.

"Start with?" Paige cocked an eye at her. "Do you think you're going to get me drunk and have your way with me?" She taunted.

Emily just smiled seductively and pulled the cork with a satisfying pop. She poured them each a glass and took a slow sip. "What's next?"

Paige didn't turn around from her preparations. "How do you feel about building a fire?"

Emily grinned. "I'm so on that." She jumped up. "I didn't earn that merit badge for nothing, you know?"

Paige did turn around at that. "Were you a Girl Scout?" Paige asked, mouth agape.

"Only the best cookie sales in Rosewood two years in a row!" Emily mock preened as she crumpled newspaper for the fire and laid some of the smaller logs across. She held a match to the paper and watched intently to make sure it caught.

Paige laughed from the kitchen. "See, you totally can surprise me." She added.

Several minutes later the timer dinged on the oven and Paige grabbed a couple of pot holders to remove the crock of dip. It was bubbling hot and smelled delicious. She turned the burner down to let her sauce simmer and covered the salad.

Paige carried it out to the living room and set it on a potholder on the coffee table. She went back for the triangles of pita bread and the two glasses of wine. She sank to the floor in one fluid motion sitting with her legs crossed in front of the fire.

Emily, satisfied that the fire was going to build without further help from her scooted back to join her slathering a wedge of bread in the cheesy dip and raising it to her mouth.

Paige reached a hand to stop her. "Careful, Em, it's really…"

Too late. Emily took an enormous mouthful and her eyes went wide as she sucked in air around the food, rolling it around in her mouth.

"...hot." Paige finished. She handed Emily her wine and watched wide eyed as she gulped it down. "Sorry. I should have warned you." Paige winced in sympathy.

Paige jumped back up and returned a moment later with a bottle of water, the bottle of wine and napkins. "Are you okay?"

Emily breathed in and out deeply a couple of times. "Yes." She drank some water. "That's amazing, by the way."

"Thanks." Paige took a careful bite of her own looking thoughtful. "Yeah, it did turn out pretty well."

Emily went in for another piece. "Is this the start of my food seduction?"

Paige raised her eyebrows. "Is it working?"

Emily closed her eyes as she savored the flavor. "Totally." Emily refilled her wine glass and eyed Paige over the rim as she took a sip.

"What?" Paige asked around a mouthful.

"I've never run a red light." She said and waited a moment before taking a sip of wine.

"Okay." Paige was confused. "That's a good thing, right?"

Emily stared at her. "It's the game." She said. "I never."

Paige shrugged. "I don't get it. You never what?"

Emily laughed. "Oh, my God, Paige! You've never played I never?"

Paige laughed, too, but at what she wasn't sure. "You're confusing me."

Emily laughed harder. "Okay, okay." She raised her hand in an attempt to collect herself. "Since we're learning some things about each other it reminded me of this game we use to play called 'I never'. One person says I've never...and they can finish the sentence however they want. Everyone else has to take a drink if they've done it. If you haven't ever done it you don't drink. Make sense?"

Paige frowned at her. "Not really."

"Alright, I'll go again." Emily thought for a moment. "I've never been a sore loser." She waited again watching Paige before taking a sip of wine. Paige just looked at her. "Oh, come on, you should be drinking to that, too." Emily insisted.

"Oh, right." Paige took a sip then scowled. "What makes you think I'm a poor loser?"

"Please, Paige." Emily smiled. "Do you really need me to answer that? It's your turn."

Paige squinted at her thinking. "I've never shoplifted." Paige watched Emily sit quietly with her hands in her lap. Paige pursed her lips looking sheepish and took a sip.

"Oh, busted!" Emily laughed. "You totally thought I'd be a partner in crime didn't you? Well, I'll have you know I am the picture of virtue." Emily teased.

"Whatever." Paige affected a pout. "Your turn."

"Wait, what did you steal?" Emily asked curious now.

Paige sighed and reached for more dip stalling. "When I was in sixth grade I really wanted to get my ears pierced but my mother wouldn't let me. She said I was too young but, you know, all the girls had their ears pierced and I wanted to fit in. So, this one day when we were out shopping I stole a pair or piercing studs from one of those kiosks in the middle of the mall."

"How did that help if your ears weren't pierced." Emily asked.

Paige shrugged. "I pierced my own ears." She said simply.

Emily's mouth dropped open. "You did not!"

Paige smiled and leaned forward. "I did. If you look close you can see how uneven they are."

Emily looked from one side of her head to the other. "Didn't that hurt?"

Paige shrugged again. "I was determined."

"You're hilarious." Emily laughed. "My turn." She turned away in thought.

The pop and sizzle of the fire filled the room in the silence. Emily looked out the window to the sky, turning an incredible shade of pink in the setting sun and emotion overwhelmed her. She couldn't remember ever being this happy. Emily breathed deeply and felt tears threatening. She wanted the next words out of her mouth to somehow express all the love and desire she was feeling at this moment.

Paige's smile faltered as she watched the emotions flicker across Emily's face. The light of the fire glittered in her eyes as a single tear rolled down her face. "Emily…" She breathed and trailed off as Emily's eyes met hers.

"I've never felt as safe as I do when I'm with you." Emily whispered.

Paige set her wine glass on the table. She wasn't going to be drinking. She reached for Emily's glass as well and moved it out of the way before leaning forward and closing the distance between them. Paige caressed the side of Emily's face and brushed a tear away with her thumb never taking her eyes off . "I love you." She breathed before kissing her gently.

Emily moved a hand to the back of Paige's head, twining her fingers in her hair and deepening their kiss. Emily leaned backwards guiding Paige with her to the floor and gasped as Paige slipped a hand under her shirt. She pulled away from their kiss briefly. "I guess you don't need food to seduce me after all." She laughed softly.

Paige froze. "Oh, my God. Dinner!" She blurted before jumping up and racing to the kitchen.

Emily tried to grab her to keep her from going. "Aw, Paige, don't go." She missed and her hand dropped to the floor empty her lips still tingling from their kiss. "I'm not even hungry anymore…" Emily called from her place of the floor. "...for food, I mean." She laughed at her own joke.

"It will be worth it." Paige called back from the kitchen. "I promise. Now, come set the table for me."


	3. Chapter 3

Paige watched delightedly as Emily soaked up the remaining sauce on her plate with her last bite of bread and popped it into her mouth with a contented sigh. "Paige, that was amazing."

"I'm glad you enjoyed it." Paige beamed. They had lingered over dinner stretching out the meal with easy conversation and questions. Learning things about each other that made them laugh, think, wonder and feel closer than ever before. It was full dark now and the fire had burned down to glowing embers.

Paige got up and began to clear the table. Emily put a hand on her arm as Paige reached for her plate. "Let me do this." She said as she rose and took the dishes from her. "You deserve to relax."

Paige didn't argue, instead refilling her wine glass with the red they had opened halfway through dinner. She moved to the living room and stoked the fire. It roared back to life as she threw fresh logs in the glowing coals.

Paige pushed the coffee table off to the side and laid a fleece blanket on the floor a few feet back from the fireplace. On top of the blanket she tossed the sofa cushions before collapsing onto the pile, stretching languidly, sated in all ways. She took a sip of her wine and let her head drop back onto the pillows letting the warmth and sound of the fire close around her.

Emily wiped her hands and hung the towel up to dry. One last look around told her the kitchen was spotless. "Paige, do you need anything while I'm in here?"

When she got no response she peeked out into the living room. Paige was asleep stretched out on the floor, the firelight dancing across her skin, with one arm across her middle and the other carelessly flung out to the side. She had never looked more beautiful or desirable and Emily could drink in the sight of her forever.

During her cleanup Emily had spied the strawberries and fresh whipped cream in the fridge and knew that's what Paige had planned for desert. She gathered the two bowls, turned out the light and quietly stepped into the living room.

The fire crackled and danced and Emily looked at Paige sleeping peacefully with a small smile at her was loathe to wake her but, at the same time, knew she couldn't keep her hands off her much longer.

Emily popped a strawberry in her mouth and chewed carefully rolling it around on her tongue, savoring it's sweetness before swallowing. Placing the bowls on the floor Emily knelt down next to her, being careful not to touch her, and leaned over Paige while supporting herself on her hands.

As Emily kissed her Paige's lips parted in welcome and her eyelids fluttered. "Mmmmm…" Paige murmured still half asleep. "...you taste like strawberries."

"Would you like some dessert?" Emily offered her voice husky with desire.

"Oh, God, yes" Paige growled as she wrapped her arm around Emily's shoulders and pulled her gently to the floor beside her.

Emily let Paige guide her down onto her back and seductively stretched her arms above her head raising her shirt to expose the taught, smooth skin of stomach. Paige accepted the invitation and grazed her fingertips across her belly sending little shivers through Emily at the touch.

Paige propped herself on one arm and slowly began to unbutton Emily's shirt softly kissing her way down each inch of newly exposed skin. Emily lay still, eyes half closed in pleasure and sighed as she felt the last button give way and her shirt fall open. Paige kissed along the top of Emily's breasts and traced a line along the edge of her lacy bra fingering, for a second, the clasp in front. As much as she wanted to see and feel all of her she wanted this moment to last a long time.

Paige had every intention of seeing her fantasies come to life as she dipped a finger in the whipped cream. She held up her hand for Emily to see her intentions before tracing a white line from the hollow at her throat between her breasts and down to her navel.

Emily gasped at the coolness of the cream on her overheated skin and shuddered slightly in anticipation of what was going to happen next. She watched, eyes glittering, as Paige positioned herself over her and brought her head down to her navel, her tongue flicking out to taste her sweetened skin.

Emily made a low sound in the back of her throat as Paige, agonizingly slow, worked her way up licking the cream from her body. When Paige got to her throat Emily raised herself slightly, gipping the back of her head to pull Paige in for a kiss. Paige resisted, unwinding Emily's hands from her and pushed her gently back down to the floor pinning her arms above her. "My turn." She whispered as she continued to kiss along her neck not allowing Emily to touch her.

Emily arched her back and moaned as heat filled her core at Paige's restraining hands on her. Her arousal was volcanic as Paige refused to meet her lips and continued kissing a tortuous path down her neck, over her collarbone and across her breasts. "Please, Paige…" She pleaded. "...kiss me."

Paige withheld again, smiling her denial with a slow shake of her head, and released Emily's hands. "Don't move." She commanded as she raked her fingers down Emily's sides and slid her fingertips under the waistband of her pants.

Emily bit her lip, eyes closed, and tried to remain still as she felt Paige's hands sliding down her hips to ease her out of her clothes. Paige removed her hands from Emily's body only long enough to strip off her tank top and bra. She reached to unclasp Emily's bra and her mouth descended fiercely on her exposed breasts sending Emily into spasms of pleasure.

Emily was beside herself with need and if Paige didn't touch her soon she might very well combust. She would beg if she had to. "Oh God, Paige, please…" She rasped out. The harder Emily struggled with her desire the more Paige toyed with her and she grinned wickedly as she raked a trail along the inside of her thighs.

Paige moved back up and cupped a hand to Emily's face. "Open your eyes." She commanded. Emily looked at her, eyes bright with longing, her breath coming short and quick. "I love you." Paige whispered before bringing their lips together in the kiss they both desired and sliding her hand down Emily's body to offer the touch she had been begging for.

* * *

Emily lay curled in the crook of Paige's arm, her head on Paige's bare chest, and sighed contentedly. "That was bold." She said with a lazy smile.

Paige laughed and traced fingertip circles around Emily's bare back and shoulders. "Guess I'm just full of surprises today."

"Mmmm. I guess so." Emily agreed."You got anything else up your sleeve?"

Paige smiled. "I'm not wearing any sleeves."

"Hmm." Emily seemed to consider this and levered herself up on her arm. "No, I suppose you're not." She smiled mischievously and swung herself up to straddle Paige's waist . "But you are still wearing pants and that is unacceptable. "Emily placed her hands firmly on Paige's chest to hold her down. " And it's way more fun when two play at this game."

* * *

The morning light streamed in through the windows as Emily slowly came awake. She lay on her side under clean sheets and a soft blanket with Paige's hand draped casually over her hip, their bodies pressed so close together she could feel the steady rise and fall of Paige's chest against her back as she still slept deeply.

Emily didn't remember moving to the bedroom but was intensely glad they did as if they had spent the night on the floor she knew she wouldn't feel nearly as good as she did right now. She was still sore but in all the right places.

As she lay awake and unmoving in the sunlight, Paige warming her with her body and her soft breath in her hair, she thought, perhaps, she should be thankful for everything they had been through. The good, the bad, and the truly terrifying had all culminated into this one perfect moment and for that she could have no regrets. If any one thing in their lives had happened even marginally differently maybe they wouldn't be here right now.

Emily felt the change in the rhythm of Paige's breathing signalling she was waking up. Emily turned to face her and tucked a lock of hair behind her ear so she could kiss her the rest of the way awake. "Good morning." Emily kissed her again. "How do you feel?"

Paige yawned hugely and stretched pressing her body even closer to Emily's in the process. "Um…" She considered for a moment. "...kind of like I just had the most amazing work out of my life."

Emily laughed, stopping when she noticed Paige studying her. "What are you looking at?"

"You." Paige marvelled. "You're like this miracle of nature in the morning. All sexy, dishevelled hair and pouty, kissable lips."

Emily thought about being shy but, after last night, there was no need. She smiled alluringly instead. "You think so, do you?" She teased.

Paige closed the short distance between them and kissed her deeply. "Yes, I do."

Emily pulled away slightly. "You know you never answered my question."

Paige furrowed her brow. "Which one?"

"Why did you bring me here?" Emily asked again.

Paige nodded turning thoughtful and rolled onto her back pulling Emily with her. She wrapped her arms around her as Emily lay her head on Paige's chest. "I guess I just wanted to do something symbolic to mark a new chapter in our lives. Something, after so much happened to tear us apart, that would bring us together again closer and stronger." She shrugged slightly. "Does that make any sense at all?"

Emily smiled and kissed her over her breast tracing random lines up and down her hip with her fingers. "It make perfect sense."

Paige sighed. "I just want to move forward making new memories with you. Good memories."

Emily smiled but couldn't resist teasing Paige's adorable earnestness. "Is that what we were doing all night? Making memories?"

Paige feigned annoyance and flipped Emily onto her back straddling her and playfully pinning her arms to the bed. "Take that back or we'll have start all over from the beginning." She ordered as she began to kiss her way up Emily's neck.

Emily laughed but refused to give in. "I have an idea." She grinned. "How about you make a memory in the form of breakfast?" She laughed harder at Paige's expression of disbelief at her challenge. "I know you have everything you need for omelettes with avocado and mushrooms so I'll just wait here and you can call me when they're ready." Emily laughed so hard she almost couldn't finish speaking. "I bet if it's anything like dinner they'll be simply orgasmic."

Paige couldn't help laughing, too, as she began to kiss her way down Emily's length. She disappeared beneath the covers. Emily's head dropped back and her eyes closed as Paige, effortlessly, rekindled her desire.

After a few minutes of building Emily up Paige scooted out from under the covers, jumped off the bed and crossed her arms with a smug smile on her face.

Emily's eyes flew open. "Where are you going?" She asked desperately.

Paige batted her eyes innocently. "To make breakfast, your highness."

Emily lunged for her and gripped her hard around the waist pulling her back down in a laughing, breathless tangle of naked limbs. "The hell you are."

* * *

Paige slid the plate, laden with an omelette dripping with melted cheese, buttered toast and the strawberries from the dessert they never ate, in front of Emily. She leaned against the counter and hid her smile behind her enormous mug of coffee.

Emily saw her staring and talked around her mouthful. "You're not eating?"

"No, I will." Paige grabbed her plate and sat down across from her still staring. "I am."

"What?" Emily asked, her fork halfway to her mouth. "Do I have something on my face?"

"No." Paige smiled and shook her head. "I just like watching you."

"Eat?" Emily considered this as she chewed another bite and shrugged. "Watch this then." She proceeded to devour her breakfast in record time.

Paige raised her eyebrows and nodded slowly. "That's hot." She mocked.

Emily held up her spotless plate. "This right there…" She waved a hand in front of it. "... is the highest compliment for a chef."

Paige smiled and started on her own breakfast. "I'll take it."

"You have no one to blame but yourself." Emily sat back to sip her coffee smiling. "You sure know how to work up a girl's appetite."

Paige laughed around a mouthful. 'I'll take that compliment, too." She looked at Emily for another beat and dipped her head, her smile fading, and pushed her food around on her plate.

"What are you thinking about?" Emily asked.

"Nothing." Paige offered a weak smile.

"Paige." Emily pressed. "Come on. After everything we shared this weekend don't close down on me now."

"It's silly." Paige sighed. "I just don't want to leave. It was just so amazing having you all to myself. Shutting off the phones and not worrying about the next harassing text or phone call or being the next town newsflash."

"It's not silly at all." Emily answered. "I totally get it, you know I do."

"I know." Paige agreed. "I'm sorry."

"I'll tell you what." Emily looked around the cabin. "We still have some time right? Let's clean up, pack the car and then we'll take a walk down to the lake before we leave, okay?"

"Okay" Paige nodded and finished her breakfast.

* * *

"Is that everything?" Emily asked as she threw another bag into the trunk.

"Yeah, that's it." Paige locked the front door and pocketed the key.

Emily extended her hand and Paige took it interlacing the fingers, palms together. There was a short trail down to the water's edge. Paige and Emily stood in silence for a few minutes enjoying the breeze and the sunlight glinting off the the softly rippling water.

"It' doesn't have to be all or nothing, Paige." Emily began.

"What do you mean?" Paige asked.

"I understand why you don't want to go back." Emily explained. "Because it seems like back in Rosewood we always have to be on our guard, never knowing who to trust, never knowing who might be trying to hurt us. It seems like we never have time to just be ourselves or just enjoy being together."

"Yes." Paige agreed. "That's it exactly."

"So, when we are able to get away and do something like this." Emily gestured around. "It makes it that much more special."

"And that much harder to go home." Paige added.

"I don't want it to be like that, though." Emily argued. "I don't want to be afraid to go home or to feel like we're going to lose something or lose us. I don't want to be ruled by this fear and anxiety all the time and I don't think we have to be."

"I don't want that either." Paige agreed picking up a stone to throw. "There are just so many secrets all the time and so many things I feel like we can't control." She whipped the stone across the surface.

"Then we just have to control the things we can." Emily turned to her pulling her into a gentle embrace. "We need to be honest with each other and not shut each other out. We need to make time for each other and time for us."

"I like that plan." Paige smiled and kissed her softly. "This weekend has been…." She paused searching for the right word.

"Magical." Emily finished for her.

"Magical." Paige repeated kissing her again and holding her close.

The ride back to Rosewood was comfortable and quiet, Paige and Emily both lost in their own thoughts. Emily's text alert broke the silence and she jumped slightly at the sound.

Emily rummaged in her bag for her phone and slid the screen on. A small gasp escaped her lips. _Don't get too comfortable, bitches. I'm tired of spectating_.

Paige heard Emily's sharp intake of breath. "Emily?" She looked over at her staring at her phone.

Emily's head snapped up at Paige's voice. "Hm?" She turned the phone over.

Paige's glance worked back and forth from the road to Emily. "Is everything alright?"

Emily couldn't believe it. They weren't even back in Rosewood yet and it was already starting. "Um…" She couldn't bring herself to worry Paige again. To let all this back in their lives. Not after the amazing weekend they had just had. "...um, yeah...it's just... Hanna...wanting to know how everything went." She swallowed painfully around the lie and forced a smile.

"Figures she'd expect you to kiss and tell." Paige said with smile and shake of her head.

Paige believed her. Why wouldn't she when Emily had just promised there would be no more secrets. Emily's heart sank.

* * *

**So, I was originally intending this to be just a short, intimate weekend getaway fic but I have decided to segue into another mystery-ish sort of story line if no one has any objections. It's still simmering so it may be a bit before I get another update out. As for the other...I hope you enjoyed reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it.**


	4. Chapter 4

There was no way Emily could get away with heading to Spencer's without spending time at home with her mother first. She lied her way through dinner as her mother asked her about her weekend with Hanna trying to be enthusiastic about their completely fabricated activities.

Emily felt sick. About lying to Paige, about lying to her mother and about what this new text from A might mean. If it even was from A. They had been fooled before. Most recently when Paige was terrorized by a former classmate. Emily didn't know what to think or where this new threat may be coming from. She needed to get to Spencer's and talk to the girls.

After the initial text her phone blew up with messages from Aria, Hanna and Spencer. They had all received it and were meeting tonight at Spencer's barn. Emily was already late but she didn't want her mother to get suspicious if she disappeared too soon after already being away for two days.

"There you are!" Aria exclaimed when Emily rushed in the door.

"Sorry." Emily said breathlessly as she flopped down next to Hanna.

Hanna put a hand on her leg and smiled. "How did it go?"

Emily opened her mouth to answer but Spencer didn't let her. "Later." She barked. "So we all got the same text, right?"

The girls nodded. "Is this A?" Emily asked having missed whatever they had discussed prior to her arrival.

"I think we have to assume it is." Spencer thinned her lips. "Or someone working with A."

"Or some other copycat psycho Ali hurt looking for revenge." Aria added referring to the last menace.

"Whoever it is." Spencer finished. "I'm sure they didn't just show up to play a joke. We need to be careful and stick close together."

"Why did they show up? What is this 'I'm done spectating' comment about?" Hanna asked.

Spencer pursed her lips. "Someone who's been inactive for a while?" She offered an interpretation.

"Sitting on the sidelines?" Emily added.

"And now wants in the action?" Aria concluded.

"But why now?" Hanna asked.

"We were too happy." Emily whispered.

"What did you say, Em?"Aria asked.

"That's what they mean. Don't get too comfortable. We were too happy. These last few months, whoever this is, hasn't had to be involved with everything else going on. Paige getting attacked, the kidnapping and then fall out after." Emily looked at her friends to make sure they were following her. "We've been such a total trainwreck for months that A or whoever hasn't had to lift a finger to make us miserable."

Spencer considered this. "Did you see anything, Em?" She asked. "While you were away with Paige at the cabin. Was there anyone around? A car? Did you hear anything strange?"

"No…" Emily was devastated that she, and Paige, seemed to be at the heart of this madness again. The cause of it. "...we never even…" She trailed off.

"What?" Spencer prodded.

Emily sighed. "We never left the cabin."

"Nice." Hanna grinned. Emily, Aria and Spencer glared. "Sorry." She added.

"I didn't see anything." Emily said finally.

"Is this another psycho victim of Alison's we don't know about yet? Someone she hurt who's taking out their anger on us because she was our friend?" Aria posed.

"Was she?" Emily muttered quietly.

"What's that, Em?" Hanna asked.

"Our friend?" Emily raised her head. "Was she really? I mean because my friends don't treat me like she did. Holding over my head the parts of me I'm struggling with or ashamed of." Emily's voice raised in volume as she gestured to Hanna. "My friends don't body shame me or make me feel less than because of my weight." She gestured to Aria and Spencer. "My friends don't threaten to expose my secrets and regrets to my family if I don't fall in line."

Silence filled the room as all the girls thought about what Emily said and reflected on their own troubled relationship with Alison. They all wanted to believe that Alison had been their friend but, the truth was, she had never been good for any of them. Not alive and certainly not dead.

"My friends." Emily went on. "Would never have treated people the way Alison did."

"But we did, Em." Spencer spoke. "Maybe we never started it, maybe we never agreed with it but we were a part of it just the same. We never stood up to her. Not one of us."

"So why is this happening to Emily?" Aria asked. "We were all there. Why is Emily carrying the weight of this?"

"It's Ali." Hanna answered.

Emily shook her head in disbelief. "Ali would never hurt me like this."

"I know, Em." Hanna amended. "That's not what I mean. Maybe it's because you loved her...because of how you loved her."

"So, I deserve it." Emily said sadly.

"No, honey, of course not." Hanna insisted and the other girls agreed vigorously. "None of us do, least of all you."

"But someone thinks you do." Spencer added bitterly.

Aria and Hanna glared at her as Emily seemed to deflate further.

"What?" Spencer continued. "That's what you're saying isn't it? Because of Emily's love for Alison all those she wronged in some way are coming after her now? Figuring they'll get the most satisfaction, the most revenge out of hurting the person who loved Ali the most?"

Emily made a strangled sound. "Or hurting the person I love the most."

That silenced them again until Hanna spoke. "What does Paige say about all this?"

Emily swallowed and turned away.

"Emily?" Hanna prodded.

"I didn't tell her." Emily answered simply.

The girls all exchanged a look.

"Why not?" Spencer asked concerned. "After everything that's hap-"

"I know!" Emily snapped. "I know." She said again more softly. "It's just...this weekend was so perfect and then it ended with me telling Paige that there wouldn't be anymore secrets and she was just so happy and relaxed and then…" She took a breath. "...that text came and I just panicked and I couldn't tell her. I couldn't ruin everything...again…." She trailed off.

"Emily, none of this is your fault." Aria said gently. "Don't take this all on yourself."

"Yeah, Em." Hanna chimed in. "We don't even know what this is about. A has been quiet a long time. We're all doing pretty well all things considered."

"Sure." Spencer snarked. "Anyone of us could be a target."

"Or," Aria added. " all of us. The important thing is we stick together just like always and we don't keep secrets. Not from each other."

"You need to tell her, Emily." Spencer said seriously. "If you want to keep what you have you need to tell her."

"What are you saying?" Emily's eyes went wide.

Spencer's face grew grim. "I'm saying you can't have it both ways. I understand you want to protect Paige and protect what you have. God, do I understand." She gestured to the other girls. "We all do. But you can't expect to hold on to her if you keep lying to her even if it is for the right reasons. You either need to let her in...all the way...or you need to cut her loose. Anything else isn't fair…to either of you."

Aria and Hanna looked away uncomfortable. They had been down this road, too. Torn between being with the people they loved and trying to protect them by keeping them in the dark about A. It was a lose lose situation.

Emily's eyes glistened with unshed tears. "What do I do?"

"Do you love her?" Hanna asked though she already knew the answer. They all did. She just needed Emily to say it.

"More than anything." Emily breathed.

"Then trust her." Aria finished the thought. "She's more than proved she's earned the right to know what's going on."

"She can handle it." Spencer added. "And maybe a fresh set of eyes on this will help. Give her the chance and she might surprise you."

Emily smiled at Spencer's inadvertent reference to their shared joke.

* * *

The girls said a quick goodbye to each other, Hanna and Aria heading to their cars and Emily out to the backyard to cut through to her street on foot.

Hanna had barely driven two blocks before before the the red and blue lights of the police behind her lit up the interior of her car. "Damnit." She breathed as she flicked on her hazards and pulled over to the side of the road. "What the hell?" She muttered to herself as she rummaged in her bag for her license and the glove box for her registration. Though she was expecting it she jumped up startled as there came a tap on the glass.

* * *

Aria was just turning on to her street when the short whoop of a siren blared out behind her followed by the flashing lights of the police. She pulled over immediately to let the patrol car pass and frowned into her rear view mirror as it tucked in behind her on the side of the road. "What? Why?" She whined to herself as she watched the officer step out of the car and head towards her.

* * *

Emily shuffled slowly along the path back to her house kicking at every stone and stick in her way as she went. She knew Spencer was right. She couldn't lie to Paige about this, even if it was because she thought she was protecting her. It wasn't fair. She had to tell her the truth. She had considered her other option. Breaking up with Paige to save her from constant worry and threats. Spencer and Toby had done it, Hanna and Caleb had done it. Though neither couple very successfully. Emily didn't think about that as a viable option for too long. It was too late. Emily couldn't do it, didn't want to do it and Paige would never believe her. No, the only thing to do was tell her everything.

Branches snapped to her left jerking her out of her thoughts. She stopped on the path and listened. An animal she was sure. She continued on her way thinking about the next time she would be able to get to Paige to talk to her. It couldn't wait. She had to talk to her tonight. A few feet further down and another rustle and snap in the foliage had her heart beat quickening.

She stopped and peered into the dark. "Who's there?" She called her voice shaky. She didn't know if she was being paranoid or she had a real reason to be afraid. She quickened her steps glancing into the woods every few feet. She saw nothing and the movement didn't follow her. She breathed a sigh of relief, thinking herself silly, as she stepped out onto her street and hurried toward the safety of her front porch.

Just as she reached for the door her text alert chimed. _Just because you're paranoid doesn't mean I'm not out to get you._

* * *

"Do you know why I pulled you over" The officer glanced at the license in his hand pausing for dramatic effect. "Miss Marin?"

"No." Hanna answered "I have no idea so why don't you just tell me."

"You have brake light out." He paused again. "Were you aware of that?"

"If I had been aware of that I would have know why you pulled me over wouldn't I? Hanna snarked.

"Listen, young lady." The officer glared at her. " I was planning on only giving you a warning so lose the attitude before I change my mind." He handed her license back to her.

"Sorry." Hanna mumbled staring straight ahead knowing the last thing she needed right now was trouble with the police.

"When I turn my lights off you may pull out." The officer said before turning back to his car.

Hanna watched him walk slowly back to his car and waited for the lights to go out. Her cell beeped a text alert at her._ Next time you may not get off so easy_.

* * *

"A brake light?" Aria repeated. "There's no way."

"I can assure you, Miss Montgomery," The officer answered as he handed her back her license and registration. "There are plenty of ways and you have found one. Consider this an official warning. Get it fixed."

Aria waited until the officer got back in his patrol car and pulled away before getting out of the car and investigating her lights. The left brake light was cracked and dark. She definitely didn't check her lights often but she knew she would have noticed this. It looked like it had been smashed in and she looked around the quiet street suddenly feeling uneasy.

Aria got back in her car and noticed her phone blinking that she had a message. _Consider this your official warning_.


	5. Chapter 5

**I think I finally have a plan in my head of where this story is headed and how it's going to get there. It's going to be a slow burn, though.**

* * *

Emily lay awake on her bed, still dressed, waiting for her mother to turn out her light. It was already past 10:00 and she was worried her mother was going to pull another all nighter as she was likely to do when engrossed in one of the mysteries she like to read. Emily use to like to borrow them when she was done but, the last couple of years, had more than enough real life mystery and drama in her life to go looking for it elsewhere.

Her mother finally turned out the light and Emily lay quietly for the better part of another hour to make sure her mother was truly asleep. She passed the time going over what she was going to say to Paige about the new A threats. She wasn't looking forward to the conversation but she was looking forward to seeing Paige again. It had only been a few hours since they had parted company but she missed her and longed to feel her arms around her.

Paige was just drifting off when her phone chirped. She reached blindly for it on the nightstand and swiped her thumb across the screen squinting, as in the darkness of her room the light of the phone was overly bright. She frowned at the message from Emily and came more awake. _Need to talk. Pls come out_.

She jumped up and slipped into her warm up pants, sweatshirt and flip flops. She was worried about why Emily would be here so late and so secretly. Whatever it was there was no way it was good. Paige, as quietly as possible so not to wake her parents, slipped down the stairs and out the front door.

Emily stood under the large oak in Paige's front yard to avoid being seen from the street. She watched Paige softly close the front door and take the porch stairs two at a time, her head sweeping back and forth across the front of the house looking for her. She waited for Paige's head to turn toward her before stepping out of the shadows to try not to startle her too much. Still, she saw Paige's hand jump to her chest in alarm when she caught sight of her.

Paige closed the distance between them scanning Emily up and down the whole way worried that she might be hurt. "Are you alright?" She asked quickly gripping her gently by the arms and peering at her face carefully in the darkness.

Emily let out a breath. "I'm fine." She answered. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to scare you. I just really need to talk to you."

Paige released a deep breath. "It's okay." She smiled and pulled Emily in her arms. "I'm just glad you're okay."

Emily wrapped her arms around her girlfriend and closed her eyes for the briefest moments letting Paige's warmth spread through her, gathering strength from it, before pulling away. "Where can we go?"

Paige released her reluctantly. "Um, let's just go around back to the pool. It's far enough away from my parents room they won't hear anything." Paige took Emily by the hand and led her around the side of the house.

"What's going on?" Paige asked when they had both settled on the loveseat by the pool. "I'm starting to get worried."

Emily fidgeted with her hands unable to meet Paige's eyes.

"Emily." Paige insisted reaching out to lift her chin so she could look at her. "You're scaring me."

Emily shook her head. "I'm sorry…." She began, stopped, took a deep breath and started over. "The text I got on our way home this afternoon from the cabin...it wasn't from Hanna."

Paige shrugged. "Okay."

Emily breathed deeply and looked away again. "It was from A."

Paige's eyes went wide and she sucked in a breath. "Oh, Emily." She breathed. "Why didn't you tell me?"

Emily grabbed at Paige's hands. "I know, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to-"

"We just got done saying there would be no more secrets." Paige interrupted pulling her hands away. "And the very next words out of your mouth was you lying to me?"

"I am so sorry, Paige." Emily wanted to reach for her again but could sense it wouldn't be well received. "I didn't mean for that to happen. I was caught off guard and the weekend had been so perfect and you were so happy and I just wanted to-".

"Protect me." Paige sneered her eyes flashing.

"Please, don't say it like that." Emily pleaded. "Yes, I wanted to protect you from all this just like I have always wanted. To keep you safe."

"Because that's worked out so well before?" Paige snapped.

Emily rocked back, Paige's words hitting her like a physical blow, stirring up all her guilt about bringing this down on them. Being the cause of so much pain in her life. Bringing again to the surface all the thoughts that this wouldn't be happening to Paige if it weren't for her. Emily opened her mouth to speak but couldn't find the words.

Paige saw the effect her careless words had on Emily and immediately regretted them. "I'm sorry. I'm sorry, I didn't mean that." She reached for Emily's hands again. "I know none of this is your fault. I'm just...I don't know what I am." She finished.

"I'm so sorry, Paige." Emily wished she had another word. Something new and more powerful that would let Paige know how she felt. "I love you and the idea that all this is starting again...I don't know...I can barely breathe just thinking about it." She gasped out. "If it weren't for me-"

"No." Paige stopper her. "Don't say that. This isn't your fault. It never has been and I don't blame you. Not for a second."

"Maybe not directly." Emily shook her head. "But all of this is still connected to Alison and the wreckage she left behind for us to clean up." She sighed. "So, yeah, I feel pretty responsible."

Paige shook her head and looked out across the pool. "Alright, we've been down this road before and I feel like we are going around in circles so, let's just start over." She said with renewed determination. "But we need to get a few things clear first." She looked back to Emily and held her gaze. "You are not responsible for this. Any of this."

Emily tried to look away as she could feel her eyes filling up with tears. Paige put a hand to her cheek and turned her back to meet her eyes. "You need to believe that." Paige added firmly.

Emily nodded slowly and Paige continued. "I love you and I want you to be safe too and I will always do whatever I can to protect you." Paige waited for a beat and when Emily nodded again she continued. "But not if I means we have to lie to each other. Are we agreed?"

"Yes" Emily whispered with a small smile. "I'm sorry." She said again.

Paige leaned in the place a gentle kiss on her lips. "I know you are and you don't have to keep saying it. Listen, Emily, because this is important." Paige made sure she had Emily's full attention. "I came into this relationship with baggage, too. I'm sure you haven't forgotten how troubled I was, how much work it took me to get where I am today. And even then, when I thought I had it all together all my demons reared their ugly heads." Paige reached for Emily, tucking her hair behind her ear and running her thumb down the side of her face. "And you were there for me the entire time. No matter the cost to yourself because that's what you do for the people you love. Am I right?" Paige studied her face.

Emily nodded pressing her lips together before she answered. "Yes."

"This is no different." Paige went on. "I love you and I want all of you. Your past, your present and to be a part of your future, whatever that holds. We've come to terms with parts of me that are a little banged up and a little scarred. We can do the same for you, together."

Emily let out a long slow breath. "How did you get to be so wise?" She asked with a smile.

Paige gave a small laugh. "I wish I could say I'm an Old Soul but I think if that were true, if I had done all this before, I maybe wouldn't have screwed it up so badly this time, huh? So, we'll just go with experience and a good therapist."

Emily laughed and leaned in to kiss Paige again. They took their time. Neither one wanting to pull away first. When finally Emily distanced herself just enough to talk. "What did I do to deserve you?" She asked slightly breathless.

Paige just smiled and pulled Emily in again. She hoped Emily didn't really want an answer to that question. She wouldn't even know where to start. She felt so alive when she was with Emily, her body hummed with energy, her mind sharper and her body stronger. When she was with her, even when they weren't together, there was nothing she felt like she couldn't do.

Paige pulled away this time. As much as she wanted to stay in Emily's arms forever it was late and they couldn't stay out there all night, as tempting as it may be. "Tell me what happened." She said softly.

Emily showed her the first text from A she received in the car earlier that day. She recounted, as best she could, the conversation she had with the girls. She left nothing out, including her thoughts that perhaps A was getting involved again because, for the first time in a while, they were in a good place. They talked about whether they believed Emily seemed to carry the weight of A's animosity because of her love for Alison and what that may mean for them.

Emily told Paige about the sounds in the woods she heard on her way home from Spencer's followed by the text from A that pretty much confirmed she had been being watched. Paige sat up straight at this and couldn't help looking around her yard into the night wondering if they were someone was watching them right now. Emily showed her the texts from Aria and Hanna both telling her they had been pulled over on the way home followed by the text from A essentially claiming responsibility for breaking their taillights.

In the end, after Paige was all caught up, as usual, they had more questions than they had answers and nothing was going to get solved tonight. Emily was exhausted and Paige's face was creased with worry. Emily reached her hand to the space between her eyes and tried to smooth the lines with her fingertips. She opened her mouth to apologize again and caught herself at the last minute. "Thank you for listening." She said softly.

Paige smiled and brought Emily's hand to her lips and brushed a soft kiss across her palm. "Thank you for telling me what's going on."

Emily sighed. "I should go."

Paige nodded slowly. "Yeah." She agreed. "Will you be okay getting home?"

"I have my car and I checked the lights." She answered with a half smile. "I'll be fine."

They stood and Paige wrapped her arms around Emily's waist pulling her close in a fierce embrace. "I'm not going to let anything come between us again." She said with conviction.

Emily returned her embrace just as fiercely. "I'm going to hold you to that." She captured Paige's lips in a last kiss before pulling away. Emily headed to her car and Paige slipped quietly back into the house.


	6. Chapter 6

Emily was just finishing up her shift Monday evening. The post work rush was over and the customers had thinned to only a handful of folks chatting or using the free wi-fi. She was wiping down the last empty table her mind a million miles away.

The day had been quiet with no follow up from A after yesterday's stunts. It seemed, for whatever reason, Spencer had escaped unscathed and being ignored by A was often more unnerving than being a favorite target. It usually meant there was something special in store for you and never good.

"Emily." Zack, the owner, interrupted her thoughts. "When you're finished there stop back in the office. I want to run a couple things by you."

Emily straightened from the table she was cleaning. "Uh, sure. I'll be right there."

"No hurry." Zack called over his shoulder and disappeared through the swinging door leading to the kitchen.

Emily headed back to the counter to remove her apron and wash her hands before heading back. She turned at the door chimes and smiled as Paige walked in.

Paige, spying Emily behind the counter, smiled in return. "Hey, you." She greeted.

"Hey,yourself." Emily answered. "How was practice?" Emily looked at the clock. "It's late. Did you stay after again?"

"Exhausting." Paige answered with a sigh and dropped into a chair at the nearest empty table. "And yes, I stayed for an extra workout. No rest for the shamefully unfit following a series of attempts on your life, as the saying goes." Paige joked.

Emily scowled at her cavalier reference to the physical injuries she had suffered a few months ago. She knew Paige's sarcasm about it was just her way of coping but the memory of nearly losing Paige was still too fresh in Emily's mind to be ready to be flippant about it all.

Paige saw the disapproving look on Emily's face and held up a hand in apology. "Sorry." She knew it upset Emily when she joked about it and hurried to move on. " Practice was good. I'm less than one second off my best time…" She stumbled now for how to refer to the attacks. "...from before...which sounds like a lot but I've actually trimmed that down from nearly two and half from last week." She finished in a breath.

Emily beamed at her. "That's awesome." She quickly forgot about her annoyance at Paige's sarcasm when she heard that all Paige's hard work was really starting to pay off. She was insanely proud of her and everything she had accomplished. "So, I have to go meet with Zack but I am happy to ply you with food and drink while you wait and then you can walk me home?"

"You read my mind." Paige smiled. "I'll take a cranberry muffin if you have one left and a bottle of water. And if you serve it to me with a kiss I will be most grateful." She batted her eyes playfully.

Emily slid a plate in front of Paige and set the bottle of water down before leaning down to whisper in her ear. "How grateful?"

"Name it." Paige whispered back and pulled Emily in for a tender kiss. Paige watched appreciatively as Emily walked away with a little extra swing in her hips.

Paige had barely swallowed her first bite when the door swung open and Ezra Fitz walked in looking around anxiously. When his eyes fell on her she gave a half wave and smiled around a mouthful of food.

He nodded briefly at her and went back to scanning the few customers scattered throughout the tables. Not finding who he was looking for apparently he settled at an empty table off to the side and sat facing the door.

* * *

Emily knocked quietly in Zack's office door then pushed it open. "You wanted to talk to me?" She asked tentatively.

"Yeah, Yeah." Zack pushed aside the invoices he had been logging in to the computer. "Come and sit for a minute." He waited for her to sit down before continuing. "So, you're not in trouble or anything, Emily, I just wanted to make you aware that when I zeroed out the register at the end of your shift the drawer was $40 off."

"Really?" Emily's eyes went wide. "That can't be right...I mean, I have no idea how that happened." She blurted out.

Zack smiled at her. "It's not that big of a deal and I don't want you to worry about it. I know how the shop runs when it gets busy and a lot of you are ringing people out at the same time but as the senior employee you are the one signed in and so your name is attached to any shortages at the end of the shift."

This had never happened before and Emily felt terrible. "I'm so sorry, Zack. I totally

didn't mean-"

Zack held up a hand to stop her. "Emily, it's okay. It happens and I'm sure it probably wasn't even your mistake. I just wanted to make you aware and ask you to keep an eye out for the less experienced staff on your next shift."

Emily felt a little better at his kind words. "Okay. I can do that." She paused for a moment anxious to get out of there. "Is that all."

"One more thing." Zack rummaged around on his desk. "This weekend I'm having so guys come in to do some electrical work in the kitchen and we're going to be closed for a few days. They have very clear instructions but I have some other stuff going on and if there is a problem I don't know that I will be available to attend to it." He finally found what he was looking for and held out a set of keys. "So, I wanted to know if you would be willing to be available to be on call for them should they need anything. I know you live nearby and I trust you to handle things if there is a problem I can't attend to."

Emily sat back surprised and flattered at his confidence in her. "Um, yeah, sure. I'd be happy to." She smiled.

"Good. I'll give them your number." Zack handed her the keys. "I'm sorry to say these don't come with a raise or anything but if you do get called in for any reason you'll get paid for you time."

Emily laughed as she took the keys. "No problem."

* * *

Paige was picking up the crumbs off her plate when the door burst open again and Aria flew in the door looking around with the same expression as Ezra. She saw Paige and gave her a weak smile before spying him at his table and rushing over.

"Ezra, what's going on? I got your text." Aria asked breathlessly.

"I thought that was my line?" He answered standing and looking her over. "Are you alright?" He asked reaching out and sliding his hands up and down her arms

Paige watched their interaction interestedly. She turned away for a moment as Emily joined her at the table.

Emily nodded in the direction of Aria and Ezra but directed her question to Paige. "What's that about?"

Paige shrugged. "I have no idea. They just showed-" She stopped mid sentence when the door flew open a third time and they watched Jake storm in. His eyes immediately fell to Ezra with his hands on Aria. "Uh oh." Paige finished.

Aria turned surprised. "Jake!" She exclaimed. "What are you doing here?"

Jake's eyes narrowed as he looked between the two of them standing familiarly close to each other. "Interrupting apparently." He said sharply. "I got a message that you needed to see me."

Aria blinked at him confused. "What? I never..." She trailed off.

Ezra looked equally confused. "I got a text that you needed to see me." He added.

Aria looked between them, her mouth opening and closing wordlessly as comprehension began to dawn on her. "I'm sorry...um...there's been a...mistake." She stammered.

Jake's face was heating up with anger. "Clearly." He snapped. "And it's been mine all along." He turned and headed for the door.

Aria reached for him. "Jake, wait." She pleaded. "You don't understand."

He shook off her hand. "No, I think I understand perfectly." He glared at Ezra and back to Aria before banging back out the door.

Aria stood, shocked, and watched him go. It had been a constant challenge to convince Jake that she and Ezra were truly over. She thought Jake was confident in her feelings for him but, if tonight was any indication, that was very much not the case.

"I should go." Ezra said quietly from behind her. "I don't know what's going on but I'm glad you're alright." He added before slipping quietly out the door.

Emily and Paige watched the entire train wreck and winced at Jake's harsh words to Aria. When Jake and Ezra had both left they went to Aria who was left standing, a dumbfounded expression on her face, by the door.

Emily put a hand on her arm. "Are you okay?"

Aria didn't move. "What just happened?"

The answer to her question came in the form of a text alert. She reached for her phone. Trouble in paradise? You were warned.

Emily and Paige walked to Emily's house hand in hand. They talked Aria off the ledge for a while before she eventually rushed out to try and find Jake and smooth things over. A, it seemed, had sent them each a text supposedly from Aria telling them she needed to talk to them right away. Exactly what A had wanted to happen had happened and Aria was left to do damage control. It was unclear how she was going to explain this away.

"Will Aria be alright?" Paige asked breaking the silence.

Emily sighed. "Yeah, she will. This was a pretty classic A move. Not that we exactly get use to it but she'll think of something to make it right."

Paige let out a sigh. The constant worry over when, where and who A was going to strike at next was infuriating. Not that she wanted to see Aria hurt but she was relieved it wasn't Emily. "What did your boss want to talk to you about?" She changed the subject.

"Right," Emily said. "He needed to tell me that my register was short tonight."

"Oh, no." Paige replied. "Is it bad?"

Emily squeezed her hand. "No. No, nothing like that. I don't even think it was me. He just wanted me to keep an eye on the younger staff."

Paige puffed out a breath. "Oh, okay, good."

"Oh, but he also gave me a set of keys to The Brew so I can be on call in case someone needs to go down if there are ever any problems." She added excited about the increased responsibility.

"Really?" Paige exclaimed. "That's so cool."

They had arrived at Emily's house and stood at the base of the steps. Emily turned to pull Paige into her arms for a kiss.

Paige pulled away slightly. "It's early. Don't you want to invite me in?" She teased.

Emily smiled and leaned in for another kiss and gasped as Paige gently captured her bottom lip with her teeth. Emily deepened their kiss and flicked her tongue into Paige's mouth teasingly. "My mom is home." She said around their kiss.

"Mmmm." Paige murmured not willing to break apart to speak. "I can behave."

Emily laughed. "No you can't." She said and moved to kiss down Paige's neck.

"You know me too well." Paige sighed at the feel of Emily's lips and breath tickling the sensitive skin of her throat. "But I can be quiet."

Emily stopped and straightened looking thoughtfully at Paige. "Maybe just for a little bit." She said playfully as she grabbed Paige by the hand and led her up the front steps. "There was that project we were suppose to be working on, right?"

"Yeah." Paige agreed with a grin. "That project. We better get cracking on that."

Emily pushed open her front door as quietly as she could and headed for the stairs with Paige in tow.

"Emily, is that you?" Her mom called from the kitchen.

Emily winced and stepped back into the front hall as her mom came around the corner. "Yeah, mom."

Pam Fields rounded the corner from the kitchen wiping her hands on a kitchen towel. "Hi, honey." She leaned in to kiss her daughter on the cheek. She turned to Paige. "Hello, Paige, it's nice to see you." She said with a smile.

"Hey, Mrs. Fields." Paige replied shyly afraid the woman could read her mind and know she was having unclean thoughts about her daughter.

Emily's mom narrowed her eyes at Paige and looked her over. "How are you, Paige? You look well."

Paige couldn't help smiling. "I'm doing really great, thanks. I've been working really hard to get back in shape and…" She glanced to Emily out of the corner of her eye. "...I just had the most amazing weekend."

Emily coughed slightly and Paige bit down on her lip to keep from laughing.

"Well, whatever you are doing it seems to be working." Mrs. Fields nodded in approval. "You look great so keep it up."

Paige beamed at her her eyes flashing mischievously. "I intend to." She bit her lip to keep a straight face at Emily's expression of horror

"Can I make you girls something to eat?" Emily's mom asked as she began to head back into the kitchen.

"Um, no thanks, Mom." Emily replied hastily. "We have a project to work on." She grabbed Paige by the hand and pulled in up the stairs.

"Yes, a project." Paige agreed and followed barely containing her laughter.

"Ok, only for an hour though, it's getting late" Came Mrs. Fields reply from the kitchen. "Let me know if you need anything."

"Okay, Mom." Emily yelled from the top of the stairs.

"Thanks, Mrs. Fields." Paige yelled as well. "It was nice to see you."

Emily pushed Paige into her room ahead of her and closed the door, leaning against it with her eyes closed. "Oh, my, God." She breathed.

Paige finally let loose the laugh she had been holding in. "That was awesome. You should have seen you face."

Emily opened her eyes and looked intently at Paige. "Stop talking." She commanded and advanced on her.

Paige wasn't laughing anymore when Emily pushed Paige onto her back on the bed and climbed up to straddle her looking like she was going to eat her alive.

Paige couldn't help the moan that escaped her lips as Emily descended on her throat with tongue and teeth. Emily clamped her hand over Paige's mouth firmly and held a finger to her lips in warning. Paige nodded in understanding.

Emily removed her hand and slipped it under Paige's top kneading her breast through her bra and Paige gasped stifling another moan. "Won't your mother...wonder why… it's so quiet." She gasped out around Emily's teasing hands.

Emily paused for a moment. "So, where do you think we should start?" She replied in as normal a speaking voice as she could manage as she slipped a thumb under Paige's bra teasing her nipple to erection. "I have some good ideas."

Paige smiled and bit down on her bottom lip. She wound her hands into Emily's hair bringing her up for a passionate kiss. She pulled away breathing out her pleasure quietly. "Well, I think you're on the right track." She answered. "Just keep doing what you're doing."

Emily laughed softly and moved her hand to unbutton Paige's jeans enough to slide her hands inside and cup her, feeling the heat of her arousal through thin cotton. "Maybe we should go in this direction." Emily suggested playfully.

Paige's back arched, a low sound coming from her throat. "I think we should…" Paige sighed as Emily applied pressure to her center. "...go in that direction."

"I'm glad you agree." Emily slipped beneath the final layer, her fingers damp from Paige's desire. "This is going smoothly don't you think?." She moved her hand slowly and deliberately and watched with delight as Paige's eyes closed to slits and her body shuddered in response to her touch.

"Yeah.." Paige breathed. "...I'm open to whatever you want." Paige gritted her teeth to keep from crying out as Emily stoked her need.

Emily could feel Paige's muscles contract around her and knew she was close. She leaned down to capture her mouth with hers swallowing Paige's moans as she crested, hands clutching across Emily's back and hips bucking with her climax.

Emily held their kiss until Paige's trembling aftershocks had stilled before finally pulling away to look at her. She grinned wickedly at her flushed and sated girlfriend. "So, how do you think we're going to do on this project?"

Paige opened her eyes and gave her a lazy satisfied smile. "Best in the class for sure." She murmured. "But before we close the book on this…" She levered herself up to run her hand under Emily's top, brushing her fingertips across her stomach and up and down her side. "...I have some ideas of my own."

Emily's mouth quirked in a lopsided smile as her own need, already immeasurable from touching Paige, was heightened from her touch. "I can't wait to explore them." She replied, eyes shining.


	7. Chapter 7

Spencer slouched deep into the overstuffed chair at the back of The Brew staring at the document open on her laptop. She chewed a pen in concentration and ground into it so deeply she was spitting out little pieces of blue plastic.

"Spencer." Hanna whined from the chair across from her. "Are you even listening to me?"

Spencer didn't move her eyes from the screen. "I'm almost done." She mumbled around the pen.

Hanna flopped back into her chair in defeat. "Why did you even ask me to come with you today?"

"What do you mean?" Spencer looked confused. "To keep me company." She refocused on her work and sat up straight, almost upending her laptop, in a moment of inspiration. She grabbed for the machine and moved it to the table in front of her typing furiously, the pen bobbing up and down as she mouthed along with the words.

Hanna blew out a sigh and checked her watch looking around for Emily. Her shift should be over soon and maybe someone would finally pay attention to her. She didn't have to look far as Emily was already heading their way, tossing her apron behind the counted on her way by.

She dropped into the chair next to Hanna. She narrowed her eyes at Spencer but knew better than to interrupt her when she was working. "What's she working on?" She asked Hanna.

"College application essays." Hanna sighed. "You'd think she was writing her Magnum Opus."

Emily stared at her and she even caught Spencer's attention with that comment. "Hanna do you even know what that means?" Spencer asked eyes wide.

"What?" Hanna snapped. "Yes...maybe...did I use it wrong? Nevermind." She said finally said and turned to Emily glad to finally have someone to talk to. Spencer had been buried in her laptop finishing up her essays for the last hour and Hanna was bored out of her mind. "So, have you talked to Aria?"

Emily dropped her head back on her chair, eyes closed, just thankful for a moment to sit down. She had been going non stop since she left for school this morning. "I think she headed over to Jake's right after school to try and salvage their relationship after A's little stunt yesterday."

Hanna grimaced. "Grovelling, huh?"

Emily nodded. "Yeah, sounds like it. I'm sure it will be okay." Emily tried to remain optimistic for her friend.

Spencer's arms flew into the air, the pen flying out of her mouth. "I'm done!" She shouted.

"God, finally." Hanna rolled her eyes.

Emily smiled at Spencer. "That's great!" She replied. "How many is that?"

Spencer flopped back into the chair with relief stretching her arms over her head. "Just three but the deadline is the end of the week."

"Well, I'll bet you're glad to have that out of the way." Emily said.

"You have no idea." Spencer groaned. "I feel like I've been working on these applications for three years.

Spencer's laptop whistled an alert for a new email. She sat up and opened her account with one unread message with the incomplete subject line Congratulations! _I hope you…._ She raised an eyebrow at the unknown sender and clicked open the message_….backed up your files_!

Her eyes went wide but before she could even move to close out of the message pop-ups filled her screen. "No no no no no no no." She yelled as she tried frantically to close them down but they just kept coming. She tried a hard reboot but her machine just whirred loudly in protest. "Oh, my, God, no!" She could feel sweat breaking out on her face and neck as her heart beat wildly.

Hanna and Emily sat up straight worried at Spencer's obvious distress. "Spence?!" Hanna exclaimed.

Spencer's eyes were wild as she banged on the keys trying desperately for it to respond in some way before she lost everything. Tears of frustration pricked her eyes as nothing seemed to work and she watched helplessly as ads for Viagra, KY Warming Jelly and Ultra Ribbed Trojans filled her screen before it all went black and shut down entirely. "I think A just crashed my laptop. I think I've lost everything." She sobbed and dropped her head into her hands.

Emily looked at Hanna with concern not knowing what to do. Hanna, for her part, wasted no time and whipped out her cell. "Caleb!" She shouted. "We have a tech emergency where are you?" She listened for a minute. "We'll be right there."

Hanna stood and hauled Spencer to her feet. "Come on." she began to collect Spencer's things and throw them into her bag. "Caleb can help. It's going to be okay." She said as she towed Spencer to the door. "Em, you coming?" She called back.

"I can't. I'm meeting Paige here in a few minutes." She shook her head apologetically and watched her friends rush out the door.

Paige reached for the door just as it burst open and Hanna and Spencer crashed into her on their way out the door in a flurry of of motion.

"Sorry. No time to talk." Hanna blurted as she untangled herself from Paige and dragged a panicked Spencer behind her down the street. "Emily can explain." She called over her shoulder.

Paige stared after them bewildered, watching them disappear around the corner, before entering The Brew. Emily was standing right inside the door and Paige hooked a thumb over her shoulder. "What was that about?" She asked giving a worried looking Emily a quick kiss.

"I'm not sure." Emily sighed. "I think A sent Spencer a virus or something that crashed her computer."

"Whoa." Paige breathed. "That's really bad, isn't it?"

"I hope not." Emily said with a weak smile. "Hanna's taking her to see Caleb to see if he can help."

Paige nodded. "I hope he can." She looked at Emily and cocked her head. "Are you all done here?" She asked.

"Yep." Emily smiled for real. "Just let me get my things."

She turned to head into the back just as Zack was heading out. "Good, Emily, you're still here." He said. "Can I see you for a minute."

"Sure." Emily looked back at Paige and held up her hand mouthing the words five more minutes.

Paige nodded, dropping into an empty chair, and pulled out her Spanish book.

Zack led Emily back to his office and held the door for her closing it behind them. "I'll get right to the point." He began. "There was another cash shortage this afternoon."

"Are you joking?" Emily asked in disbelief. "How much?"

"I wish I were." He answered. "$40 again."

Emily stared at him and sucked in a breath thinking on that for a moment. "I don't believe it."

"Listen, Emily, once was no big deal..." He looked disappointed. "...but two shifts in a row I can't really overlook."

Emily's eyes widened with the realization that he was starting to think she was responsible. "Zack, I swear to you, it's not me." She pleaded.

He seemed not to hear her. "If you need an advance or something you know you just need to ask but won't tolerate stealing or dishonesty from my employees."

"Stealing?" Emily exclaimed. "No! No way! I'm not doing this."

Zack studied her and his face softened at her distress and sincerity. "Okay." He sighed. "I want to believe you." He looked at the door as if he could see through it to the front of the store. "But I can't have whatever this is continue so, please, pay attention to what's going on out there on the floor."

Emily looked away, chewing on her bottom lip, a thought creeping into her mind. What if A was setting her up by having someone stealing from the till on her shifts, making her look guilty and putting her job in jeopardy. It wasn't hard to imagine at all and Emily could feel her blood start to heat in anger and the thought. She needed more information. "Has money gone missing any other time? On any other shift?" She asked afraid she already knew the answer.

"No." Zack confirmed.

Emily sighed nodding. She needed to get to the bottom of this before she lost her job. "Please, just trust me." She said."I'm going to figure this out." She added determinedly.

Zack frowned at her vehemence. "You won't do anything to get yourself in trouble, right?" He asked concerned.

She set her mouth into a thin line. "I'm already in trouble." She stated before throwing open the door to the office and walking out.

Paige looked up to see Emily walk out of the back and the smile that began at the sight of her quickly turned to a frown of concern at the expression of grim determination on her face. She watched as Emily detoured behind the counter and snatched a piece of paper off the wall before heading to the table.

"Let's get the hell out of here." Emily snapped as she walked by, not waiting for a response from Paige, pushing open the front door with more force than was necessary.

Paige scrambled to gather up her things and race after her. When she got to the street Emily was already a block away waiting on the corner for her. Paige rushed to catch up. "Em, what is it? What's going on?"

Emily ran her hands through her hair in frustration. "There was money missing again and Zack thinks I'm stealing." She said in a rush.

"What?" Paige asked incredulously. "He can't really believe that. I mean, anyone that knows you wouldn't think-"

"Yeah, well…"Emily interrupted. "It's only happening on my shift so what else is he suppose to think?"

Paige gripped Emily's arms. "There has to be an explanation."

Emily laughed humorlessly. "Yeah, and I think I know what it is." She turned and headed down the street.

Paige rushed again to catch up with her. "Where are we going?"

"Your house." Emily answered without slowing. "I have a project I need your help on."

"Again? Right now?" Paige was shocked at Emily's boldness. "I mean, I want to but-"

Emily stopped and Paige slammed into her. "Not that kind of project." Emily laughed. "You wanton hussy." She added for fun. "I need to find out who's behind this."

"Oh." Paige blushed. "Alright, sure."

Emily reached a hand to the back of Paige's neck to pull her in for a kiss. "But I'll take a rain check."

* * *

Paige sat cross legged in the middle of her bed while Emily paced around the room. "What's this?" She carefully unfolded the crumpled piece of paper Emily tossed to her and studied it. "Is this your shift schedule?"

"Yep." Emily stalked back and forth. "If someone is stealing on the shifts that I work and it's not me than it had to be someone else I work with right?"

"I guess." Paige answered not necessarily convinced. "But we got caught before from someone who wasn't an employee when I got sick from-".

"I remember." Emily cut her off and held up her hand. She didn't want to think about how she got tricked into poisoning Paige a few months ago. "Let's just assume, for simplicity's sake, that it's not a customer." She gestured to the schedule in Paige's lap. "Whoever is on with me today and yesterday is a suspect until we can rule them out.".

Paige nodded and looked down at the paper. "A.O.?" She read off the first initials.

"Angela O'Conner." Emily answered and thought for a minute. "Angie actually switched shifts on Monday so she's out."

"Moving on then." Paige checked the sheet again. "E.P?"

"Eric Pressler." Emily shook her head. "Total burnout and he'll probably be fired before the end of the week anyway. He called out today and left us short."

Paige's eyebrows raised. "Narrowing it down isn't going to be a problem is it?" She looked back for the next set of initials. "D.C.?"

"David Cohen." Emily said. "Davey was there today and yesterday".

"Is that Davey from the yearbook staff? The freshman?" Paige asked.

"Sophomore." Emily clarified. "Yes, that's him."

"So, he's a suspect then?" Paige asked to be sure.

Emily shrugged. She didn't know if she was on the right track with this or not. Davey was 15 years old and seemed completely harmless. He was a good co-worker and kept to himself. He even helped them out once by loaning them a yearbook to go through to try and identify someone. She definitely didn't want to think he could be part of this. "I guess. I mean we can't rule him out right? And we never know who's been influenced by Alison or A or anyone else for that matter. So, yeah, he's a suspect."

'Okay." Paige nodded. "The last initials are K.S."

"Kerry Stoller." Emily nodded. "She's new. A third year at Hollis, I'm pretty sure. I don't know her that well."

"So, we, for sure, need to check her out." Paige said. She looked expectantly at Emily. "How do you want to handle this?"

Emily stopped pacing and leaned against Paige's desk chewing her fingers. "I don't know. I haven't gotten that far."

"When is your next shift?" Paige asked.

Emily thought for a moment. "Not until Friday."

"Okay." Paige pursed her lips in thought. "So, we have a little time. How about I ask around about Davey Cohen at school tomorrow?"

"Ok." Emily nodded. "Maybe we can take a ride out to Hollis tomorrow afternoon and find out more about Kerry Stoller."

"I can't tomorrow." Paige said apologetically. "I have-"

"Oh, right." Emily's eyes lit up." The meet against the Red Devils tomorrow. With everything going on I almost forgot."

"You should go down to Hollis with Hanna or Aria." Paige suggested.

"Absolutely not!" Emily exclaimed. "First of all, we are in this together and secondly, I wouldn't miss cheering you on for the world."

"Alright, we'll go another time then." Paige grinned. "Now, about that rain check?"

* * *

**Thank you all for the reviews. This story is coming together much slower than my others but I still have more to say in my Pailyverse so stick with me and hopefully you will continue to enjoy. Happy Holidays!**


	8. Chapter 8

Paige's quarry for the day had proved elusive. Maybe not such bad thing considering she hadn't quite worked out the story she was going to spin to get any information about Davey Cohen. She had passed Davey Cohen a half a dozen times in the hallway. Interesting how frequently their schedules intersected considering she had never taken note of him before. But he wasn't actually who she was looking for. She couldn't very well just sidle up to him and ask him if he was A, working for or with A or otherwise harassing her girlfriend or her friends

She supposed she had never noticed him before because there wasn't much about him to catch your eye. That and he was a boy and two years her junior. He was a good looking enough kid in an average sort of way. Nothing about him would turn you head. She spied him again at his locker right before last period wrestling a large, black leather and very expensive looking camera bag from inside. The case alone was probably worth a few hundred dollars. She could only imagine how much the equipment inside it cost. Interesting and it gave her an idea.

Having seen this Paige finally had an idea how to approach her mark and as soon as the final bell rang she hustled down to the yearbook committee office. She only had a few minutes before she was expected in the locker room to start getting ready for the meet this afternoon.

"Lucas!" She shouted when she caught sight of who she was looking for. "Hey, Lucas, wait up."

Lucas Gottesman spun around at the sound of someone calling his name frowning as Paige McCullers closed the distance between them. As far as he could recall he had never had a conversation with Paige in his entire almost four years of high school. "Did you mean me?"

"Yeah, hey." Paige began a little out of breath having run to catch up with him. "How you doing?"

Lucas stared at her then looked around behind him still half believing she was looking for someone else. What could the captain of the girl's swim team and Emily Field's girlfriend want with him. "You're looking for me?" He clarified.

"Yep, you." Paige gave him her most charming and, she hoped, disarming smile. "I wanted to ask a favor. There is a big swim meet today." She checked her watch and winced. She was going to be late. "Soon, actually, and I was hoping someone could come out to take some action shots."

Lucas cocked his head at her. "All the photos for girls sports are done. They're in layout already."

Paige was ready for this. "No, this would just be for me actually. I want to put together a slide show for the end of the season banquet as a surprise."

"Ah." Lucas nodded his approval. "That's cool. Unfortunately, I'm shooting Jazz Band this afternoon." He grimaced. "Which is totally too bad because I'd much rather shoot action shots of ladies in swim…." He trailed off and cleared his throat. "...the swim team."

Paige feigned disappointment though this is exactly what she hoped would happen. "What about the other kid? Danny? Dennis?"

"Davey?" Lucas offered.

Paige snapped her fingers. "Davey, yeah, that's him. He works with you, right?" She seemed to think for a moment. "Didn't I see him with some brand new camera equipment?"

Lucas nodded enviously. "Oh, man. I don't know what he did to deserve that set up. He's got thousands of dollars worth of lenses already and another 800mm lens on an installment plan. It's worth a fortune."

Paige nodded considering. "Well, he's probably been saving for a while." She suggested.

"Slinging coffees and muffins." Lucas sneered. "Not likely. Anyway, he just showed up with it all one day. I mean this is an arsenal of equipment to make a photog from Nat Geo drool ."

Paige was intrigued by the conversation. "So, I'm sensing you don't like him."

Lucas had drifted away from the conversation fantasizing about 800mm camera lenses. "What?" He snapped back to reality. "No, I like him. In fact, I'm grooming him to take over the photo shoots and layouts for the yearbook after I graduate."

"So, he's a good kid?" Paige prodded. "Not odd or secretive or vindictive or anything?"

Lucas frowned. "What?"

"What?" Paige asked and looked at her watch again. "Oh, I'm really late." She turned to run back to the pool. "Thanks for your help, Lucas."

Lucas gave a half wave. "Um, did you want Davey to shoot the meet?" He called but Paige was already down the hall out of earshot.

Paige skidded to a stop at the door to the locker rooms when she saw Emily leaning against the wall.

"There you are." Emily said in surprise. "Coach was about the send out a search party for you."

"I know, I'm late." Paige pecked her on the cheek. "I've got something to tell you but it'll have to wait."

"That's okay." Emily smiled. "I talk to you after. Good luck!" She called as Paige pushed her way into the locker room.

"McCullers!" Her coach bellowed at her before the door had even closed all the way. "You're late!"

Paige grimaced. "I know. I'm sorry, Coach." She said sheepishly.

"I expect more from my Captain." Coach scolded. "And from my relay anchor."

Paige's head snapped up. "Anchor?" She wasn't certain she heard right. "Really?"

"I know your times are still on their way back." Coach's face softened. "But the amount of work you've been putting in lately makes me think you have something to prove. I figure maybe you'll feel like proving it today."

Paige grinned like a kid on Christmas morning. "Thanks, Coach."

Coach smiled. "You deserve it." Her face turned hard again. "Now quit wasting my time and get dressed."

* * *

Emily found a spot in the stands about halfway up so she could see the entire pool and all lanes. The meet was already underway and the noise in the natatorium deafening as it echoed around the vast tiled room.

She checked the heat schedule scanning for Paige's name. She didn't show up until the end and Emily's eyes went wide, her heart swelling with pride, when she saw Paige was anchoring the 400 meter freestyle relay. She scanned through for any individual events but saw none which was unusual but, Paige herself would be the first to admit, she's not back to full strength. Coach is probably saving her for the end.

The freestyle relay is one of the most prestigious events in swimming and, Emily knew, the most fiercely competitive event between the Red Devils and the Sharks. It would be a huge coup for Rosewood to win it and Paige will have the opportunity to bring it home for them.

Emily relaxed back to enjoy the meet and cheer on her former teammates. She had moments of sadness and longing that she wasn't out there with them, being cheered on by the fans, but for the most part, she had made peace with her new identity as former swimmer and Paige's biggest fan.

The fans quieted to a dull roar as they got ready to start the relay. Emily spied Paige, huddled in her swim parka to keep her muscles warm and loose, headphones in, pacing back behind the starting blocks a look of intense concentration on her face. Emily stared hard at her willing her to look up.

Paige could feel Emily's eyes on her as a warmth crept up the back of her neck. She looked out to the stands and saw her smiling broadly, her fist clenched in front of her in a sign of strength and support. Paige nodded in understanding and her mouth quirked in a smile.

Shana was leading off the first leg and should get them out to a good start. Paige watched as the swimmers took to the blocks waiting for sound of the electric starting gun the school had purchased last year.

Emily leaned forward to see better as Shana took her turn. She had a good half body length lead. If only the second and third legs could hold on Paige may not have to come from behind. She felt a hand on her shoulder and lips brushed her ear to be heard over the din. "Hey, stranger."

Emily jumped at turned. "Zoe!" She exclaimed startled. "What are you doing here?"

"I'm sorry to just drop in on you again." She pulled Emily into a hug which Emily returned in kind. "I tried calling you." She waved a hand around. "But I'm sure you couldn't hear. I stopped by your house and your mother said I could probably find you here."

Emily looked at the woman and smiled ear to ear. "I'm so glad you're here." Emily embraced her again. "I've been meaning to call you."

"Yeah, yeah." Zoe replied sarcastically. "I don't hold out much hope for you keeping in touch so it's just easier to stop by when I'm in town. I haven't seen you since the trip to the Jersey Shore. I know you weren't in a good place then and I wanted to see how things were going."

Emily beamed. "Things are great. Paige and I are doing great-" She was cut off by a tremendous roar as the fans surged to their feet. Emily's head whipped to the pool and her heart sank at the realization the race was over and she had missed it. She looked to the time clock and saw Rosewood had won.

Paige was levering herself out of the pool and being cheered and greeted by her teammates. Emily had no idea what happened and was disappointed she hadn't seen or cheered Paige's big comeback debut.

Zoe saw the Emily's look of anxiety. "Is that her?" She asked.

"Yeah." Emily answered. "I'm not sure what happened but they won."

Zoe understood right away. "I'm sorry, Emily." She put a hand on her arm. "I didn't mean for you to miss her race."

Emily turned covering Zoe's hand with her own. "It's okay. You didn't know."

"I'd love to meet her." Zoe offered. "Maybe we can go get a coffee after?"

Emily beamed. "I would love that."

* * *

Paige stood under the hot shower for much longer than was necessary to just rinse the chlorine out of her hair and skin. She had won that relay for them hands down. The were a full body length behind when she hit the water and she had pulled it out. Still not her best time but good enough to bring home the win and she felt tremendous. She couldn't wait to see Emily and she had a pretty good idea what she wanted to do to celebrate.

Paige was just finishing getting dressed when her cell chimed. Emily she thought and reached for her phone. _Guess your biggest fan was too busy to cheer on you on today_. Beneath the text was a series of photographs of Emily smiling and embracing another woman. Paige frowned at it and scrolled through the photos again. Emily was beaming at her, the woman had her hand on her arm her lips up to Emily's ear in smiling conversation.

Paige's heart began to slam in her chest as she flipped back and forth through the photos. Though they had never met, she knew the woman was Zoe, Emily's supervisor on her trips with Habitat for Humanity. What she was doing here Paige had no idea.

Paige knew right away she had been sent the photos to cause trouble between her and Emily but she just couldn't see past that right now. All she could see was Emily in the arms of someone else, someone Paige knew she was close to. Paige was hurt deeply and dropped down onto the bench, her phone clutched tightly to her chest.

"Paige?" Emily was suddenly standing next to her. "Are you alright?"

Paige didn't look at her, couldn't look at her. "Did you see the race?" She asked quietly.

Emily was confused. "I don't understand. I was there for the entire meet."

Paige still remained unmoving. "That's not what I asked." She stood now. "Did you see me race?" She shoved her phone at Emily. "Or were you too busy?"

Emily frowned at Paige's question and took the phone. Her eyes went wide as she flipped through the pictures of her and Zoe. "Paige." She breathed. "This isn't...I didn't know she was coming...she just showed up." Emily struggled with her words. "You know we're just friends."

"Do I?" Paige asked bitterly. She knew she was overreacting and playing right into A's hands but she just couldn't think clearly right now.

"It's not like that." Emily shook her head. "Zoe has just been there for me when-"

"When I couldn't be?" Paige offered sadly.

"What?" Emily's was taken aback. "No, of course not. That's not what I was going to say."

Paige started packing up her bag. "I have to go."

Emily felt tears pricking behind her eyes. "Paige, don't do this, please. You know who sent this to you, right? You know this is what they want, to come between us."

"I know." Paige said softly. "And it's working."

"Not if you don't let it." Emily pleaded. "Please, don't leave like this. Zoe is waiting outside. She's happy for me, for us and she really wants to meet you."

Paige laughed humorlessly and stared hard at Emily. "Maybe some other time." She turned and walked out.

Emily stood, her heart heavy, staring after Pagie wondering if she should go after her. She didn't hear the locker room doors open again.

Emily's phone chimed and she pulled it from her pocket. _Looks like Aria isn't the only Liar with some grovelling to do._

Emily read the text and screamed in frustration throwing her phone into the tiled wall. It shattered sending pieces skittering in all directions across the locker room floor. Emily sank to the bench and dropped her head into her hands.

"Whoa whoa whoa, what did that poor phone ever do to you?." Hanna said as she came up behind Emily just in time to see her outburst. "What's going in, Em?"

Emily looked up at her friend with tears in her eyes and laughed bitterly. "The usual." She gestured to her phone. "I'd let you read the text but…" She trailed off.

Hanna sat on the bench next to her. "Did something happen with Paige?"

Emily sighed. "A sent Paige a bunch of pics of me and Zoe at the swim meet. She just showed up and surprised me and I missed Paige's race and A just punched Paige in the gut with it."

"Ah, I see." Hanna replied. "Is she okay?"

"I don't know." Emily sighed. "We were doing so well. I thought we were really solid but then those picture really rattled her."

Hanna chewed her lip. "Paige doesn't have anything to worry about does she?"

No!" Emily's head snapped up. "Of course not!" She let out a breath. "I need to talk to her but I don't think she wants to see me right now."

"You know what you need?" Hanna stood and pulled Emily to her feet. "Retail therapy."

Emily smiled weakly. "I don't think so, Han." She shook her head. "There isn't even anything I need."

"I beg to differ, my dear." Hanna toed the wreckage of Emily's phone with her boot. "Come on, we'll go buy some new gadgets."

Emily sighed a laugh and bent down to sift through the pieces. "I gotta find my memory card."


	9. Chapter 9

"So, that was Zoe, huh?" Hanna eyed Emily as she drove. Emily had introduced them and they had chatted for a several minutes before Hanna was able to drag Emily away but only after Emily promised to help Zoe recruit at Hollis tomorrow night.

Emily smiled. "Yeah."

"She seems pretty great." Hanna was fishing and was trying, mostly unsuccessfully, not to be too obvious. "Smart, funny, accomplished…" Hanna trailed off.

Emily's smile grew. "Yeah, she's really amazing." She agreed.

"Not to mention gorgeous?" Hanna added to see if she could get a reaction. It worked.

Emily's eyes narrowed and she turned to her friend. "What's your point?"

Hanna shrugged. "I guess maybe it's not so hard to imagine why Paige might feel threatened by her is all."

Emily turned back to stare out the windshield. "I care about her, yes. I admire Zoe and she's helped me through a lot and she's a good friend. I respect her. But…" She shook her head. "...I'm not interested in being with anyone but Paige." She finished emphatically.

"Does Paige know that?" Hanna prodded.

"I thought so but…" Emily trailed off.

"Well, maybe she just needs some reminding." Hanna pulled into the mall parking lot near Apple store. "As soon as we get you a new phone you can send her a message and let her know you only have eyes for her." She said with a wink.

Hanna perused the accessories racks as Emily was was still busy with the clerk. Hanna looked over to see her leaning over the counter going over the features of her new iPhone 5, secretly jealous, as Emily had managed to trash her phone near enough to her contract being up to get a free upgrade. They looked like they were going to be busy for a while yet so she decided to pick out a new case and maybe a bluetooth headset.

The store was busy and she had to squeeze through packs of people, some actively shopping and others, pining away for the latest gadgets they couldn't afford. She made her way to the wall of products she was looking for and, as she tried to push her way through a group of kids her own age, some of whom she may have recognized, a quick flash of red in the corner of her eye caught her attention.

She whipped her head around and stretched her neck over the heads of other kids but she couldn't see the person again. She was sure it was nothing. A lot of people wore red. She turned to continue on to the back of the store and was overrun by the group heading out of the store en masse.

"Hey!" She barked. "Watch it!" She was jostled and spun around, nearly knocked off her feet, as the group of teenagers made their hasty exit. She watched them leave and frowned as one of them, a boy she was sure, raised the hood on his black sweatshirt as they headed out the door into the main mall.

Hanna looked to Emily to see if she noticed anything but she was still talking with the clerk. She thought, briefly, about going after them then decided that was crazy. A teenager at the mall in a black hoodie was hardly anything to get excited about and she wasn't going to let A's latest assault on them turn her into a paranoid nervous wreck.

She abandoned her quest for new gadgets and joined Emily at the counter. "Are you all set?"

"Yeah." Emily answered. "Just waiting for my contacts to transfer to the new phone."

"Good." Hanna said. "All this shopping has made me hungry."

Emily rolled her eyes. "We've only been here for half an hour." The clerk came back with her phone and she thanked him and dropped it in her pocket.

"Come on." Hanna linked her arm through Emily's. "I'll let you buy me dinner to cheer you up." She said with a laugh.

Emily rolled her eyes again. "Hanna, that makes no sense at all."

The girls crossed the threshold of the store and jumped as alarms clanged loudly. They were immediately accosted by two mall security officers who stepped in front of them. "Not so fast ladies." The heavier of the two said as he put a hand out to stop them.

"No, it's okay." Emily said reaching for her phone and showing it to him. "I just bought this."

The clerk who had waited on her came up behind her. "There shouldn't be an alarm on that packaging." He said confused. "We don't even keep those on the floor for someone to steal."

The security guard eyed Hanna. "What about you, Missy?"

"Take it easy, Paul Blart." She snapped. "I'm just here for moral support."

He bristled at her sarcasm and insult. "So, you won't mind if I look in your bag?"

Hanna thought about giving him a hard time but she really was hungry and Emily was looking nervous beside her. She decided the best thing to do was cooperate and be on their way. "Be my guest." She handed her bag over. "But don't think you can borrow my lip gloss."

The guard poked through her bag for only a second before his face darkened into a scowl. He produced three phone cases in different colors and a bluetooth headset all still in their packaging. "What the hell do you think you're playing at, Young Lady." He snarled.

Hanna's eyes went wide in alarm. "That's not mine!" She shrieked.

"No kidding!" He replied and reached for his radio.

"No, wait." Emily reached a hand to stop him. "I'm sure there must be some mistake."

"I didn't steal anything!" Hanna pleaded angrily. She looked at Emily's shocked face. She knew immediately her first instinct about that kid in the store had been correct. A had been here. Or someone working for A had just planted that stuff on her and had just cleverly gotten her busted for shoplifting.

"Tell it to the police." The guard snapped gripping Hanna by the arm tight enough that she let out a yelp of pain. "You're coming with me" He turned to drag her away as Hanna pulled uselessly against him in panic.

"Hey!" Emily jumped forward. "Get your hands off her!" She shouted loud enough to catch the attention shoppers nearby.

The Guard's eyes went wide in alarm at Emily's reaction and he stared at her for a few beats before letting go of Hanna realizing he may have crossed the line in touching her.

Emily saw her chance and, channeling her best Spencer Hastings, went for it to save her friend. "You have the stuff back." She gestured the items the clerk had collected. "This has all been a big misunderstanding." She continued. "Let us walk away now and I won't discuss with your supervisor or my lawyer how you just assaulted a 17 year old girl."

The security guard's face reddened in embarrassment and fury at Emily's ultimatum. He looked to his partner for support who was staring pointedly at his shoes. "You can't-" He began.

"I can. And I did." Emily waggled her phone in front of her his face. "It records in HD even."

He narrowed his eyes at her. "You're bluffing." He challenged.

Emily shifted from one foot to the other. She was in too deep to back out now. "Why don't we ask all these nice people" She gestured to the handful of shoppers who were standing around watching the confrontation, some of whom actually were recording the incident in the hope of it escalating and perhaps they would get their 10 minutes of fame. "what they think happened?"

The guard never took his eyes off the girls. He looked uncertain and Emily was sure he was going to call her bluff. "Don't let me see either one of you again." He growled before turning on his heel and stalking off, his partner trailing after him.

Hanna let out a burble of hysterical laughter. "Holy shit, Emily!" She breathed. "That was awesome!"

Emily released a shaky breath and felt her legs start to tremble. "I think I'm going to pass out." She mumbled.

Hanna linked her arm with Emily again and walked them toward the main entrance. "Let's get the hell out of here." Hanna chattered the entire way to the car. "I'm totally calling Spencer and Aria to meet us for dinner so I can tell them how you totally went lioness on that dude's ass to save me. I can't even imagine what would have happened if I had gotten busted again. Oh, my God, Em, I never would have guessed you had that in you. You didn't really record that did you? Oh, I'm totally buying you dinner by the way. God, I wish you had really recorded that. Maybe I should have asked one of those other people who was there..."

* * *

The girls sat at their favorite table at the Apple Rose Grille and listened as Hanna recounted the story. Spencer and Aria were slack jawed and stared, incredulously at Emily. Emily was embarrassed and wished Hanna would stop making a big deal out of it. She knew Hanna didn't steal anything, that this was another of A's tricks and she did what she had to do to protect her friend.

"Can we, please, talk about something else?" Emily begged and decided to turn the conversation away from her. "Spencer, was Caleb able to recover your files?"

Spencer's eyes darkened. "Not all of them." She said bitterly. "That's why I haven't been around. The application deadline is Friday and I need to reconstruct the essays."

Emily winced in sympathy. "Sorry." She offered. "Aria, how are you and Jason doing after the other night?"

Aria sighed. "I don't know." She shook her head. "That pile up at The Brew may have been the proverbial straw. He says he believes it's over with me and Ezra but he's still pretty skittish around me. It's not looking good, to be honest."

Emily grimaced again. "That sucks." It seems A was really sticking it to them this time around.

Hanna looked between her friends. They all wore similarly defeated expressions. "This is bullshit!" She exclaimed loudly enough to turn heads in the restaurant. She lowered her voice. "A totally has us backpedaling right now but what Emily pulled off today proves what we can do. We've beaten A before." She had the girls' attention now. "We need to start taking action."

Emily nodded and was the first to speak. "I may have some information." She began. "But with everyone doing so much damage control I haven't had time to tell you guys."

The girls sat up straight, interested in what Emily had to say. She filled them in at what had been happening at The Brew. How someone had been stealing, she thought, to set her up and she and Paige had narrowed it down to two people who had been working with her both days and that she and Paige were investigating them to try and find out any information.

"Actually, I think Paige may have found something out about Davey Cohen but I haven't had a chance to talk to her yet." Emily finished.

"Call her." Spencer suggested. "We need to know."

"Um, I can't." Emily looked to Hanna for help.

Hanna placed a hand on Emily's arm. "Today at the meet Zoe showed up unexpectedly and surprised Em. A sent pictures of it to Paige."

Aria let out a small humorless laugh and clinked her water glass with the one sitting in front of Emily. "To misery loving company." She said brandishing her glass in mock toast.

"Em, you need to talk to her." Spencer argued. "We need to know what she found out."

"I know, Spencer." Emily snapped. "I just need to give her a little space right now."

"What about the other person?" Aria asked. "What did you say her name was?"

"Kerry Stoller." Emily answered grateful to not talk about Paige for the moment. "I'm going over to Hollis tomorrow afternoon to help Zoe with a recruiting session. I'm going to use that as a cover and see what I can find out about her. We all work together again on Friday so the more I learn before then the better."

"Do you want one of us to come with you?" Hanna offered.

Emily shook her head. "No, thank you."

"I don't think you should go alone." Spencer insisted.

"Actually, I'm kind of hoping Paige will agree to come with me." Emily confessed.

Hanna's face lit up. "Well, on that note you better get your ass over to her house and straighten things out." She laughed. "So to speak."

* * *

**Happy New Year! Glad to see you are still enjoying the story. Thank you for the reviews**.


	10. Chapter 10

Emily was concentrating on wording her text to Paige just right. She really needed to see her and to make her understand she had nothing to worry about. She was deleting what she had already written for the third time and didn't see Paige sitting on the top step of her front porch until she was at the base of the stairs.

"Is that a new phone?" Paige asked by way of a greeting.

Emily's head snapped up in surprise. "I...uh…" Emily held up the phone. "I…was just sending you a message….trying to anyway." She finally finished.

Paige cocked her head at her. "You're not sure how to send it?"

Emily smiled a little sheepishly. "I'm not sure how to say it." She answered.

Paige nodded in understanding. She had a lot to say, too, but wasn't sure where to begin. "What happened to your old phone?"

Emily winced and looked away across her yard. She wanted to say something clever and dismissive but, again, this conversation was about honesty so she opted for the truth. "After you left this afternoon I got a text from A mocking me about the photos…." She took a breath. "...I was frustrated and angry so, I threw my phone against the wall."

"I'm sorry." Paige replied.

Emily shrugged. "It's okay. I was due for an upgrade anyway."

"No, not about that." Paige's mouth quirked into a half smile. "I mean about earlier."

"Paige, you don't have to apologize." Emily protested. "I should-"

"I do, Em." Paige stood and closed the distance between them. "I totally overreacted. I blew things way out of proportion and I didn't trust you." She gripped Emily's hands in hers and looked hard at her. "And I do trust you so I'm sorry."

Emily shook her head and gripped Paige's hands in return. "You were hurt and I understand. I didn't mean to let you down like that. I know how important that race was to you and I wish I had been the first one you saw after you touched the wall."

Paige leaned in and touched her forehead to Emily's. "I love you." She whispered.

Emily dropped Paige's hands and snaked her arms around her neck dipping her head down to capture her lips in a tender kiss. "I love you, too."

Paige pulled away slightly so she could look at Emily. "I'm sorry I didn't get a chance to meet Zoe."

Emily gave her a half smile, unsure if Paige really meant that or she was just saying because she thought if was what Emily wanted to hear. She decided to trust her. "Well, since you mentioned it." She began. "Zoe is in town for a couple days recruiting at Hollis." She paused to check Paige's expression. She seemed interested. "She asked me to come join them on a panel tomorrow evening. I thought you could come and we could ask around about Kerry Stoller?"

Paige nodded thinking. "That sounds like a good idea." She agreed. "Oh, I need to tell you what I learned today." She backed up and pulled Emily to sit down on the steps with her.

"About Davey Cohen?" Emily asked.

"Yup." Her eyes sparkled. "I talked to Lucas about him. He's, apparently, recently shown up with all kinds of brand new camera equipment that he should have no business being able to afford."

Emily considered this for a moment. "You think he's paying for this by stealing from The Brew?"

"Mmmm." Paige shook her head in doubt. "I don't know about that. Lucas says this stuff costs a fortune. I don't think $40 a couple of times a week is going to cover it. Is it possible A is paying him?"

"I have no idea." Emily frowned. "I guess A could be hiring minions. It hasn't happened before that we know of but…" Emily trailed off as another piece clicked into place. "Was Davey the one who took those pictures of me and Zoe this afternoon?"

Paige shrugged. "I can't help but think that but we have no way to prove it."

"So, it looks like we're leaning toward Davey being A's accomplice on this?" Emily asked.

"I don't know, Em." Paige sighed. "I mean, Lucas really likes him. Says he's a good kid. But then again Hanna was best friends with Mona, right?" She threw her hands up. "So, yeah, I guess, as of right now, we like Davey Cohen for it, right?" She wondered if she sounded as confused as she felt.

Emily placed a hand on her leg. "Well, maybe we should reserve judgement until after we find something out about Kerry Stoller."

Paige dropped her head into her hands and groaned. "All this A nonsense is giving me a splitting headache."

Emily reached her hand up and massaged the back of Paige's neck, digging her thumb in at the base of her skull.

Paige groaned again, in pleasure and Emily turned her slightly so she could get both her hands on her neck and shoulders, where she knew Paige carried her tension."

"Em, you don't have to-" Paige protested weakly her head bobbing back and forth loosely on her shoulders as Emily worked her hands deep into her muscles.

"Hush." Emily cut her off as she worked out a particularly stubborn knot.

"Mmmm." Paige let her head fall to her chest as she relaxed. "Don't stop. Ever." She mumbled.

Emily leaned in and kissed softly along the back of her neck. "Do you want to come up?"

"I can't." Paige groaned again, this time in frustration. "I have a Spanish test tomorrow."

Emily smiled as she continued to knead the tightness from Paige's muscles while tickling the sensitive skin on her neck with her lips. "Okay." She affected a most forlorn sigh. "I guess I'll see you tomorrow."

Paige turned around and reached to caress the the side of Emily's face, tucking a loose lock of hair behind her ear. She leaned in and brushed her lips against her gently. Emily responded with a soft sigh and deepened their kiss. "I'll see you tomorrow." Paige said when she finally pulled away.

* * *

The next evening Emily and Paige walked into to the small auditorium Zoe had reserved for the panel. They were a few minutes early and students were still milling around in groups of two or three, that is, until one woman saw Emily and squealed with delight drawing the attention of other folks she knew from her trip to the Jersey Shore that fall. They rushed her and Paige dropped her hand and stepped away to give Emily room to greet them and visit with her friends.

Paige stood, content, off to the side and watched the reunion. She felt someone step up beside her but didn't turn to look.

"I'm really glad you could come tonight, Paige." Zoe said.

Paige glanced at her out of the corner of her eye, not quite ready to turn and face her. "You know who I am?" She asked.

"Of course." Zoe laughed warmly. "You're all Emily talks about."

Paige smiled hesitantly and turned to the woman. She was beautiful and her eyes sparkled with intelligence, humor and wisdom beyond her years. "You're messing with me." Paige replied good naturedly.

"I'm not." Zoe shook her head and then nodded over to Emily and the group of students swarming her. "Everyone adores Emily. She has this light about her that just draws people to her like a moth to a flame."

Paige nodded with a smile. "I'm aware."

"I bet you didn't know, though, that the light gets brighter when she's talking about you." Zoe looked at Paige as if she knew about Paige's insecurities and that maybe her confidence could use a boost right now. "Even when she's only thinking about you I can tell. There's this fire in her that smolders all the time but when you're on her mind it burns red hot. It's amazing, really." Zoe finished sincerely.

Paige turned from Zoe and watched Emily for a moment laughing and catching up with her friends. Emily must have felt her gaze and looked to Paige. She flashed her a brilliant smile and a wink before looking back to her friends. Paige felt heat rise to her cheeks. "Why are you telling me this?"

"You looked like you could use some truth." Zoe smiled and shrugged. "And the truth is you should never doubt how Emily feels about you."

Paige, pleased at Zoe's words, blushed and ducked her head. "Thank you." She whispered.

* * *

The slide show presentation and question and answer session went on for an hour. The room was full of about 30 students all of whom had questions about the next planned trip to Nicaragua. Paige listened with interest and couldn't help breaking in to a huge grin whenever there were pictures of Emily on the screen. She looked so happy, full of light and purpose and it warmed Paige to see her so confident and strong. So much of Emily's life had been disappointment, fear and uncertainty.

When they finally wrapped up and Emily and Paige had said their goodbyes they headed out into the courtyard. "So, do we have a plan?" Paige asked.

"Um, kind of." Emily answered. "Aria suggested we ask her father to help track Kerry Stoller down. He should have access to her information through Hollis's system."

Paige nodded. "I guess it's as good a place to start as any."

Emily pulled out a map Aria had drawn with directions to her father's office. "This way."

Aria was sure her father would be there well past dinner time. He had a late class on Thursdays and always stayed late to do some grading. His door was slightly ajar and they could hear the tap of keys as he worked away. Emily knocked softly.

"It's open." Came the reply and the girls walked in. "Hello, Emily." Byron Montgomery came around from behind his desk and greeted her. "Aria told me you were on campus tonight and you may be stopping by." He turned to Paige and extended his hand. "Paige, right? Nick McCullers daughter?"

Paige shook his hand. "Yes. Nice to meet you Mr. Montgomery."

Byron Montgomery leaned against his desk. "So, what can I do for you ladies?" He looked expectantly between them.

Paige looked at Emily anxious to hear what story she was going to spin to Aria's father.

Emily returned Paige's glance and took a breath. "Um, there's a coworker of mine who is a student here. She left her phone at work and I wanted to return it to her. I was wondering if you might be able to look up her address or something for us?" Emily answered hesitantly.

Mr. Montgomery frowned slightly. "Well, that's very kind of you to come all the way down here to do that but I don't have access to any kind of information about students'."

"Oh." Emily chewed her lip. She, clearly, hadn't thought this through very well.

"What about her class schedule?" Paige chimed in trying to salvage the trip. "I mean, maybe she's still on campus and we can catch up with her." She was trying to not sound too much like a stalker.

Mr. Montgomery considered this. "Sure, I can take a look." He answered after a moment and walked back around to his desk and dropped into the chair. "What did you say her name was?"

Paige and Emily glanced at each other before turning their attention to Mr. Montgomery. "Kerry Stoller." Emily spelled her last name.

Paige bounced up and down on her toes as Mr. Montgomery clicked away through the university computer system. Emily gripped Paige's hand and gave it a squeeze to still her.

"Oh, here she is, I think." He finally declared. "Is she a Computer Science major?"

Emily and Paige looked at each other, eyes wide, both thinking the same thing and failed to answer the question. A computer science major would be able to send a virus to Spencer crashing her computer.

"Emily? Is that right?" He frowned at them and hesitated. "I'm really not suppose to be giving out student information but as long as you're friends-."

"Yes!" Emily finally collected herself. "Yes, she's really into computers. That's her." She blurted.

Mr. Montgomery nodded and his face relaxed. "Well, it looks like she doesn't have any more classes tonight, I'm sorry to say." He laughed. "Guess she'll have to go another day without her phone."

Emily was anxious to get out of there and Paige was bouncing on her toes again. "That's okay. Thanks so much for your help, Mr. Montgomery." Emily said before towing Paige out the door by her hand.

"Bye, girls." He called to their backs.

Emily ran back through campus toward her car, gripping Paige by the hand the whole way. She was anxious and, at the same time, exhilarated by their discovery and didn't notice Paige pulling on her.

Paige finally dug her heels in and tensed her arm. "Emily, slow down." She insisted.

They both skidded to a stop at the edge of the parking lot. "What's wrong?" Emily asked breathlessly.

Paige frowned and put her hands on her hips. "Why are we running?" She asked equally as out of breath.

Emily raised her eyebrows and considered the question as she sucked in air. "I have no idea." She finally laughed.

"Oh." Paige frowned at her. "Okay."

Emily reached for Paige's hand again and they walked the rest of the way to her car. "So, it sure seems like Kerry Stoller is looking good for an A accomplice, too."

"Yeah." Paige sighed frustrated.

"Why do you sound like that about it?" Emily asked. "We made progress tonight."

"I guess" Paige shrugged. "But, I mean we didn't rule one of them out. They were both suspicious and now they're both even more suspicious. So, we didn't really get anywhere did we?"

"Maybe." Emily thought. "Or, we confirmed our suspicions and now we just need proof that points to one of them." She unlocked the car and got behind the wheel.

"Or both of them." Paige slid in to the passenger seat. "Do you think they could be in this together?"

Emily, startled by the suggestion, put the key in the ignition but didn't start the car. "I've never seen them say more than two words to each other at work."

Paige shrugged. "Just a thought." She scrubbed her face with her hands. "I think I've just about had it with this tonight. Let's talk about something else."

Emily nodded in understanding and leaned back against the headrest. Dealing with A was draining on multiple levels and she was more than happy to put A on the back burner for the night. "What did you think of the presentation?" She asked.

Paige could feel all the admiration and love for Emily fill her again at the reminder of watching Emily speak so passionately about her work with Habitat for Humanity. She sat up and looked at her. "I thought it was amazing." She smiled. "You were amazing."

Emily smiled shyly and blushed at the compliment. "Me? What did I do?"

Paige didn't even know how to explain it and didn't even want to try. "Just trust me." she whispered as she leaned across the center console and gripped the back of Emily's head pulling her in until their lips met in a kiss that Paige hoped expressed, better than words, how she felt.

Emily sighed and pulled away slightly smiling. "What was that for?"

Paige didn't want to talk anymore. She felt anxious about their ongoing battle with A, renewed confidence from her conversation with Zoe and a determination to live up to Emily's feelings for her. All of this served to infuse her with a sense of energy and urgency she could only think of one way to release. She pulled Emily to her again, their lips crashing together, and slipped her hand beneath Emily's top.

"Paige...wha…" Emily struggled to speak around Paige's mouth. "...has got...into you?" She managed.

"Stop talking." Paige breathed and leaned in to kiss and nip along Emily's neck.

Emily gasped her pleasure at Paige's sudden onslaught of tongue and teeth on the skin of her neck and her hand working it's way under her bra. "We're in the car." She protested halfheartedly.

"Yeah." Paige agreed breathlessly, her mouth never leaving Emily for more than a second as the began to work the buttons of Emily's shirt with her free hand. "Just work with me...I've always wanted to try this."

"Try what?" Emily shifted in her seat and dropped her head back back allowing Paige better access to her throat as she continued her attack on her. "Awkward teenage car sex?" She said with a gravelly laugh.

Paige got through the last of the buttons on Emily's shirt and yanked it down around her arms, stretching across the console to continue kissing and nipping her way down Emily's shoulders. "I was thinking...more...hot teenage car sex." She laughed throatily in return.

"Someone will see us." Emily groaned as Paige's hands and mouth on her bare skin battled with her sense of modesty and decorum.

"Where's your sense of adventure?" Paige grinned and ran her hands across Emily's abdomen and heard the last of Emily's resolve fall away with her unguarded moan of pleasure. "You can be flexible, right?" She added with a laugh.

"Pun intended, I'm sure." Emily laughed and gripped Paige's shirt in her fists. "I've got your flexible right here." She eased herself, more gracefully than she expected, into the back seat and pulled Paige with her.


End file.
